KABUL (AP) In a gruesome display, the Taliban hanged a body from a crane in Herat's main square in western Afghanistan. This was a return to the Taliban's past methods, a witness claimed Saturday.
Wazir Ahmad Seddiqi who owns a pharmacy at the corner of the square said that four bodies were brought to main square. Three bodies were then moved to other areas of the city to be displayed publicly.
Seddiqi stated that the Taliban had announced in the square they were involved in a kidnapping, and were later killed by police.
Ziaulhaq Jaalali, a Taliban-appointed district police chief in Herat said that Taliban members had rescued a father/son who were kidnapped by four kidnappers following a gun battle. He claimed that a Taliban fighter was wounded and a civilian was killed by the kidnappers, while the four (kidnappers were) were shot in the crossfire.
Mullah Nooruddin Turkabi, one the founders of Taliban and chief enforcer of their harsh interpretation of Islamic Law when they last ruled Afghanistan said to The Associated Press this Week that the hard-line movement would once again execute and amputation hands but not in public.
The Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15th and Afghans, as well as the rest of the world, have been closely watching to see if they can re-create the brutal rule of the late 1990s. Even though they embrace technological advances like video and mobile phones, the leaders of these groups remain deeply conservative and hardline.
A Taliban official also said that a roadside bomb had struck a Taliban vehicle in the capital of eastern Nangarhar, killing at least one person.
The bombing was not immediately claimed by anyone. According to the Islamic State affiliate in eastern Afghanistan that claimed responsibility for similar bombings in Jalalabad last Wednesday, 12 people were killed.
Mohammad Hanif, a Taliban spokesperson, said that the victim of the attack was a municipal worker.
