WASHINGTON 

The UN said Thursday that it is against the use of the death penalty after the Taliban carried out a double public execution in Afghanistan.

"We firmly continue to stand against the use of the death penalty, and I think the public nature of this execution is particularly heinous," Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

His remarks came after the Taliban executed two convicted murderers at a football stadium in Afghanistan's southeast.

The two men, who were responsible for the stabbing deaths of two people in separate attacks, were shot while thousands watched, according to local reports.