Taliban Kill Woman Accused Of Spying

10 August 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Afghan officials said today Taliban guerrillas have executed an Afghan woman after accusing her of spying for U.S.-led forces.
District chief Haji Mohammad Younus said the unidentified woman was shot dead in her house last night in the southern district of Zabul. He said Taliban fighters also kidnapped the brother and father of the victim.

Abdul Latif Hakimi, who claims he speaks for the Taliban, confirmed the report and said the Taliban had killed the woman because "she was a spy for the Americans."

Ousted from power by U.S.-led forces in 2001, the Taliban have executed several men in the past after accusing them of being American spies. But the 9 August execution was the first of a woman by the hard-line Islamist group.

(Reuters/AP)

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