Young Afghan lovers beheaded
Staff reporters, Yahoo!7 October 24, 2013, 11:01 am
A young couple in southern Afghanistan have been beheaded after they reportedly had a love affair outside of marriage.
Police believe the family of the woman, in her 20s, was responsible for the murders in Helmand.
The woman had runaway with her lover and was living with him in their family home, according to the male victim’s brother.
On Monday, a group of men broke into the house near the provincial capital Lashkar Gah and kidnapped the pair, police official Mohammad Ismail Hotak said.
“On Tuesday, local residents reported that there were two bodies in the graveyard. We went there and found them. Both were beheaded,” he said.
“From our investigations, we have found that the two had a love affair. We believe the family and relatives of the girl are behind the killing.”
The dead man’s brother told investigators he had loved the woman and wanted to marry her.
Omar Zwak, the provincial governor’s spokesman, confirmed the incident and said an investigation was under way.
Relations between young men and women outside marriage are taboo in Afghanistan, an extremely conservative nation with deep Islamic beliefs.
