The Taliban hold another public execution as thousands watch at a stadium in northern Afghanistan

The Taliban held a public execution on Monday of a man convicted of murder in northern Afghanistan as thousands watched at a sports stadium, the third such death sentence to be carried out in the past five days.

The execution took place in heavy snowfall in the city of Shibirghan, the capital of northern Jawzjan province, where the brother of the murdered man shot the convict five times with a rifle, according to an eyewitness . Security around the stadium was tight, said the witness, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

It was also the fifth public execution since the Taliban seized power of Afghanistan in August 2021 as the U.S. and NATO troops were in the final weeks of their withdrawal from the country after two decades of war.