Taliban execute woman to send Afghans a grim warning of life without the West

 
An Afghan woman accused of adultery was executed by a purported member of the Taliban as a crowd of about 150 men looked on and cheered in a killing captured in video footage that surfaced at the weekend.

The slaying occurred just an hour's drive from Kabul and is a grim reminder of the hardline group's brutality, under whose rule from 1996 to 2001 women suffered severe privations, including being banned from attending school. It also highlights the expanding presence the Taliban has throughout the country, beyond their traditional strongholds in the south and east.