A young couple have been stoned to death by the Taliban in Afghanistan for eloping.

The married young man and a single woman in Kunduz province's Dasht-e-Archi district were planning to run away after being prevented from marrying.

The woman, Sadiqa, 20, was engaged to another man, said Kunduz provincial police chief, Gen. Abdul Raza Yaqoubi.

She and the man, 28-year-old Qayum had hidden in a friend's house, intending to make their escape.

They were discovered by the Taliban yesterday and stoned to death in front a crowd of about 150 men.