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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/11/world/asia/11pakistan.html
Taliban and Allies Tighten Grip in North of Pakistan
[New York Times] Carlotta Gall and Ismail Khan - Islamic militants are using a recent peace deal with the government to consolidate their hold in northern Pakistan, vastly expanding their training of suicide bombers and other recruits and fortifying alliances with al-Qaeda and foreign fighters, diplomats and intelligence officials say. The result is virtually a Taliban mini-state. The area is becoming a magnet for an influx of foreign fighters who are wresting control from local tribes and spreading their influence to neighboring areas. This year more than 100 local leaders, government sympathizers, or accused "American spies" have been killed, several of them by beheading.