(WARNING: The following video is graphic. Viewer disrection is advised.)
A cell phone video of Taliban forces executing a woman accused of adultery has caused an international backlash.
The disturbing video depicts a crouching Afghan woman surrounded by Taliban militants and onlooking villagers in the midst of an what appears to be an impromptu sentencing. As she waits, several men speak in Arabic about Islam's condemnation of adultery, according to The Telegraph.
A man with an assualt rifle then approaches the woman, which The Telegraph identifies as the 22-year-old wife of a Taliban fighter, and shoots her several times at point blank range.
The woman, Najita, reportedly committed adultery with a Taliban commander, and was executed in front of villagers within an hour of her sentencing about sixty miles north of Kabul. Governments across the world, including Afghanistan and the United States, have spoken out against the video.
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"We are going to investigate entirely into this video and we will find those culprits, those Taliban, who are behind this," Sadiq Saddiqi, Afhgan Interior Ministry spokesman, told Reuters. "There is no meaning for this anymore."
A statement issued by the Afghanistan Embassy said the U.S. "joins the government of Afghanistan in condemning in the strongest possible terms the public execution of an Afghan woman, reportedly by the Taliban, in Parwan province."
Although women have gained some basic rights since the Taliban lost control of the goverment in 2001, the group maintains significant influence in the country.
Seth Cline is a reporter with U.S. News and World Report. Contact him at scline@usnews.com or follow him on Twitter.
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