KABUL , Afghanistan ( CNN ) -- Taliban gunmen executed a young couple for trying to elope in rural Afghanistan , a local police chief told CNN Tuesday . The woman was forced by her parents to become engaged to a man she did not like , said Police Chief Gabar Furdali , and decided to leave home with another man . Local Taliban commanders found out and set out to punish them , said the police officer in the village of Man De Khe in the Kash Rud district of Nimruz province , a remote southwestern province that borders on Iran and Pakistan . The Taliban gathered residents of Kash Rud to watch the execution of the two . The man , Abdul Aziz , and the woman , who was not named , were shot to death , the police officer said . He did not say when the killings took place . NATO troops who patrol the country have `` limited presence in that particular area , '' a spokesman told CNN . The killings were not `` within our area of responsibility , but we are aware of the reports '' said the spokesman for the NATO mission who declined to be named , in line with policy . There is a tradition of `` honor killings '' in the region that long predates the Taliban , said Barnett Rubin , an Afghanistan expert at New York University . Journalist Tawab Qurayshi contributed to this report .
Police chief says couple were killed for planning to elope . He says woman wanted to get away from forced engagement to another man . Incident happened in Nimruz province , a remote area that borders Iran and Pakistan . NATO aware of the reports but said it was not their area of responsibility .