Security forces in Afghanistan say they have killed two Taliban militants accused of cutting off the fingers of 11 elderly men as a punishment for voting in the country's June 14 presidential run off.
As with all Afghans who voted, the fingers of the men from the western province of Herat had been marked at the polling station with indelible ink to prevent them from casting a ballot more than once.
The men were seized and mutilated by their abductors after they voted.
Although the Taliban had threatened before the election to retaliate against those who cast ballots, a Taliban statement issued amid widespread outrage in Afghanistan about the mutilation of the elderly men claimed that the militant movement was not involved in the attack.
As with all Afghans who voted, the fingers of the men from the western province of Herat had been marked at the polling station with indelible ink to prevent them from casting a ballot more than once.
The men were seized and mutilated by their abductors after they voted.
Although the Taliban had threatened before the election to retaliate against those who cast ballots, a Taliban statement issued amid widespread outrage in Afghanistan about the mutilation of the elderly men claimed that the militant movement was not involved in the attack.