Taliban authorities in the western Afghan city of Herat killed four alleged kidnappers and hung their bodies up in public to deter others, a local government official said on Saturday.

Sher Ahmad Ammar, deputy governor of Herat, said the men had kidnapped a local businessperson and his son and intended to take them out of the city when they were seen by patrols that had set up checkpoints around the city.

An exchange of gunfire ensued...