MINGORA: Police say the decapitated body of a Pakistani police constable has been discovered in a town in Swat Valley on Tuesday.

The find was a sign that Taliban militants have not given up the fight for the northwestern region, despite a nearly three-month-old army offensive.

Police officer Sajjad Qazi says the constable was kidnapped a week ago, apparently by militants. His decapitated corpse, with the head lying nearby, was found about 4 kilometers east of the valley's main city, Mingora.

The Taliban made a point of targeting police in Swat as they spread their reign over the past two years.

Rebuilding the police is key to government efforts to regain control of Swat, especially now that hundreds of thousands of refugees are returning home. —AP