University student publicly hanged in Afghanistan over alleged assassination of senior Taliban official

Taliban insurgents have publicly hanged a university student over alleged assassination of a senior leader of the terrorist group, a local government spokesman confirmed on Saturday, 3 December.

Abdul Rahman Mangal said the student, Faiz ul Rahman Wardak, was executed 60 km (37 miles) outside the Afghanistan capital – Kabul.

Wardak, a fourth year student at Kabul Polytechnic University, was on his way to meet his family when he was captured by Taliban. The militants hanged him in Sewaka village in Chak district of Kabul, accusing him of working for the government and killing the Taliban intelligence official named, Mullah Mirwais.

"He wanted to spend his holiday at home but was captured on Thursday by local Taliban and they hanged him in public. As soon as we got information, we tried to help him but the Taliban hanged him immediately," Mangal said.

However, the Islamic fundamentalist political group in Afghanistan has denied commenting on the execution. The main Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the case was under investigation. "Once we finish our investigation and fact-finding, we will share the details," he added.

Pictures of a young man, hanged by the neck from improvised gallows have been circulated on social media, Reuters reported.

The hanging is not an isolated incident. Militants of the fundamentalist group frequently launch search operations on main highways in remote locations, especially in northern Kunduz province, to abduct civilians.

In November, loyalists of the Islamic of Iraq and Syria (Isis) terrorist group kidnapped numerous civilians and murdered them to retaliate the killing of one of their commanders.