Taliban hang dead body in Afghan city’s main square, witness says

Ns News Online Desk: The Taliban strung up a dead man in a public square in Western Afghanistan after authorities claimed he had been executed by police. The man was one of four killed by authorities after allegedly taking part in a kidnapping, the Associated Press reported.

Four bodies were brought to the town center in Herat, but Taliban officials decided to string up the dead men’s bodies in different places, said Wazir Ahmad Seddiqi, who runs a pharmacy in the Herat square.

The public display comes just hours after the Taliban’s top cop, Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, announced the country would be returning to Quran-era religious punishments like executions and limb amputations. During the Taliban’s previous stint, they famously held public executions in the country’s stadiums.

Though they have promised Afghans a kinder, gentler Taliban, the current leaders — many whom like Turabi are veterans of their previous rule — have shown few signs of moderation.