KANDAHAR, Jan 18: Taliban militants hanged a man from an electricity pole in southern Afghanistan after accusing him of spying for US troops and the Afghan government, a district chief said on Friday.

A man who identified himself as a Taliban commander confirmed the execution in Musa Qala district, which Afghan and international soldiers took from the rebels in December after it had been in rebel control for 10 months.

Musa Qala district chief Haji Abdul Salaam told AFP the man who was hanged was an ordinary civilian. “He had nothing to do with the government or anyone. The Taliban have hanged him for spying,” said Salaam, a former Taliban member who has joined the government.—AFP