Download
The Taliban beheaded 17 partygoers, including two women dancers, in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province as punishment, recalling the darkest days of rule by the ultra-conservative Islamist insurgents before their ouster in 2001.
The bodies were found on Monday in a house near the Musa Qala district where a party was held on Sunday night with music and mixed-sex dancing, said district governor Nimatullah. Men and women do not usually mingle in Afghanistan unless they are related, and parties involving both genders are rare and kept secret.
The killings, about 75 km north of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, came at the beginning of a violent 24 hours for NATO and Afghan authorities in which 10 Afghan soldiers were killed in a mass insurgent attack, also in Helmand, while two US soldiers were slain by a rogue Afghan soldier.
"The victims threw a late-night dance and music party when the Taliban attacked" on Sunday night, said Nimatullah, who only has one name.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility.
During their five-year reign, which was toppled by US-backed Afghan forces, sparking the present NATO-led war, the Taliban banned women from voting, most work and leaving their homes unaccompanied by their husband or a male relative.
Though those rights have been painstakingly regained, Afghanistan remains one of the worst places on Earth to be a woman.
Some democratic freedoms have also been wound back in what rights groups fear is an effort to reach a political reconciliation and possible power-sharing with the Taliban.
The Taliban gunmen stormed a lakeside hotel near Kabul in June demanding to know where the "prostitutes and pimps" were, witnesses said. Twenty people were killed.
The Taliban said they launched the attack on Qarga Lake because the hotel was used for "wild parties".
Helmand governor spokesman Daud Ahmadi said a team had been sent to the site of beheadings to investigate.
In another setback for NATO, an Afghan soldier shot dead two US troops in east Afghanistan on Monday, the latest in a series of insider killings that have strained trust between the allies ahead of a 2017 handover to Afghan security forces.
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.
我考虑一下这件事然后再给你答复:VOA职场口语
职场英语学习:外企办公室电话英语(1)
职场英语学习:外企office常用英语(3)
职场英语:四分之一秒打分 老板判断员工7大标准
职场英语学习:和同事去吃商务快餐与服务员的对话
原来是你干的啊:VOA职场口语
职场英语:如何应对你讨厌的人
职场英语学习:Asking directions问路必备英语
职场英语学习:到底为何被开除?上班玩游戏还是经济危机
职场英语学习:对工作环境不满意且升职无望
职场英语:职场的"信息超载综合症 "
职场英语学习:外企办公室电话英语(3)
职场英语学习:和朋友讨论对加薪幅度不满意的事
职场英语学习:英语询问对方有无计划或安排Are you doing anything tonight?
职场英语学习:外企办公室电话英语(2)
职场英语学习:最近工作顺利吗?累得在公司会议上都睡着了
职场英语学习:用英语礼貌的请求别人Making polite requests
职场英语学习:用英语做非正式的邀请
职场英语学习:你敢“裸辞”吗
我觉得我不适合做销售工作:VOA职场口语
迟到三次就要扣一个月工资:VOA职场口语
出租车司机能听懂你说的话吗:VOA职场口语
职场英语学习:外企办公室常用英语300句(5)
职场英语学习:老板电脑无法联网时刁难技术的对话
职场英语学习:外企各种各样的假期英语单词怎么说,外企的假期是福利之一
营职场英语学习:销战略指导,顺利完成销售目标
众人拾柴火焰高:VOA职场口语
职场英语学习:用英语做正式的邀请More formal invitations
除了等待就没有别的办法了吗:VOA职场口语
职场英语学习:公司接待接待约见拜访者
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |