Pakistan soldier survives Taliban execution
Pakistani tribesmen offer prayers for a soldier during a funeral ceremony after he was kidnapped and killed by Taliban militants in Darra Adam Khel on Dec. 30, 2012.
Taliban militants executed 21 captured Pakistani paramilitary soldiers, but two survived, a government official said, according to Reuters. One unidentified soldier is in critical condition.
Euro news reports another paramilitary soldier escaped.
Local government official Naveed Akbar Khan told the AFP news agency, "We found 21 bullet riddled bodies of security personnel a short while ago in an uninhabited area."
The soldiers were kidnapped by Taliban militants during raids on two military camps near Peshawar. Later, the soldiers were shot one at a time, an anonymous senior administration official told euro news.
Al Jazeera reported on the failed attempt to negotiate the soldiers' release.
"The tribal jirga tried to negotiate with the Taliban but those talks failed, after which the levies [police] were taken to the cricket ground and they were shot."
The news comes a day after Taliban leader and spokesman Hakimullah Mehsud sent a video to Reuters, saying the militant group would negotiate, though he also said they would not stop fighting.
"We believe in dialogue but it should not be frivolous," said Mehsud. "Asking us to lay down arms is a joke."
More from GlobalPost: Pakistan Taliban chief says he's willing to talk: Reuters
Watch raw footage from Reuters of one soldier who survived: