BBC News, October 16, 2010

Taliban kill woman accused of murdering mother-in-law

A local intelligence official said it is suspected the Taliban gave an AK-47 assault rifle to the brother of the dead woman and asked him to shoot one of the daughters-in-law in public

By Bilal Sarwary

A woman accused of murdering her mother-in-law has been killed by Taliban in the eastern Afghan province of Ghazni, local officials say.

This is not the first such incident in Ghazni. In this photo local people watch two Afghan women shot and killed by Taliban in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, on Sunday, July 13, 2008. (Photo: AP/Rahmatullah Naikzad)

The mother-in-law was pushed into a bread oven by two of her daughters-in-law after a spat on Monday, they say.

The incident took place in the remote Abe Band district, 60km (37 miles) east of the provincial capital Ghazni City.

Officials say the Taliban have so far spared the life of the second daughter-in-law, as she is pregnant.

The names of the three women have not been released.

"There was a verbal clash between the daughters-in-law and the mother-in-law. The daughters-in-law threw her into the oven. She died of serious burns,'' one Afghan official told the BBC.

He said it appears that the family approached the Taliban after the incident.

A local intelligence official said it is suspected the Taliban gave an AK-47 assault rifle to the brother of the dead woman and asked him to shoot one of the daughters-in-law in public.

But he added that it is possible that the family killed the daughter-in-law on its own.

The other daughter-in-law has been taken to an unknown location.

The intelligence official said she may be kept hostage until she gives birth. "She may then be killed," he said.

Beheadings

Abe Band district is considered to be a Taliban stronghold.

Several Afghans were beheaded in the district last year after the Taliban accused them of spying for foreign forces.

Ghazni has seen an upsurge in violence in recent years.

Strategically located on the route between Kabul and Kandahar, the province was once a centre of trade and Ghazni City rivalled the Abbasid dynasty in Baghdad in wealth and cultural brilliance.

But the modern world has not been kind to Ghazni. The city has lost the sense of itself and its past. Its infrastructure is in ruins and its people impoverished.

Political instability and the presence of Taliban have hindered Ghazni's development.

Characters Count: 2949