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KABUL, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement on Saturday publicly executed two men accused of working with opposition forces and carrying out bomb attacks in the capital Kabul, witnesses said. The two blindfolded men in their late 30s, their hands tied behind their backs, were hanged by the neck from ropes attached to two separate cranes. Hundreds of Taliban guards and several journalists saw both men die in a matter of seconds when the cranes lifted them up. The site was close to the famous Ariana square where the Taliban executed former communist president Dr Najibullah and his brother four years ago when the movement captured Kabul. The bodies of the two men will remain on the cranes all day as part of Taliban's policy to deter others.
Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban military chief, told reporters that the two men were involved in the recent bomb blasts including last week's missile attack on Kabul airport and at other
Taliban military installations. "It is not necessary for you to speak with them. They have already accepted their sins, and the punishment of those who carry out any sabotage like bombing, is execution," Dadullah said. He said the two men were arrested "red handed" last week and belonged to a major network of the opposition forces led by veteran commander Ahmad Shah Masood. Opposition officials have denied any link with the two men. |
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Dadullah said 20 other suspects of the same group were also under investigation and would also be hanged if found guilty. He displayed explosive devices which he said were seized from the two at the time of their arrest and he accused Iran and Russia of providing explosives to the opposition forces to disrupt security in Taliban areas. The Taliban fundamentalists hold most of the country, including Kabul, which it seized from Masood, the military chief of the ousted government, in 1996. |
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