Taliban behead 17

Taliban insurgents have beheaded 17 civilians, including two women, who were holding a party with music in a southern Afghanistan village, officials say.

The atrocity drew immediate condemnation from the commander of NATO's military force in Afghanistan, the United Nations, the US and Britain.

"I can confirm that this is the work of the Taliban," the Helmand provincial governor's spokesman, Daud Ahmadi, told AFP, referring to Islamists notorious during their rule for public executions and the suppression of music and parties.