Kabul, Afghanistan: The Taliban have shot dead a woman accused of adultery in northeastern Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.
Ahmad Naweed Frotan, a spokesman for the Badakhshan provincial governor, said Amir Begum was killed late Tuesday in the remote Yumgan district after being accused of having an affair.
"We strongly condemned the brutal killing of Amir Begum in front of the eyes of her family members," said Frotan. He said if there was any truth to the allegations they should be taken up by a court, not armed men.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan, an insurgent rocket attack killed a civilian in the southern Helmand province, which has seen heavy fighting in recent months.
Ghulam Nabi Charkhi, head of the provincial counterterrorism department in Helmand, said three others, including a small child, were wounded in the attack in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital.
The attack took place as Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah was about to leave Lashkar Gah with other officials after a visit to assess security in the province. None of the officials were harmed.
In the eastern Khost province, five police and three small children were wounded when a police vehicle hit a remotely detonated roadside bomb, said Ghani-ul Rahman, the deputy provincial police chief.
The Taliban have stepped up attacks across Afghanistan since the US and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, leaving a smaller contingent of troops behind to focus on training and counterterrorism.
