Briefing reporters by phone, Price responded to Taliban leader Mullah Nooruddin Turabi's comments to the Associated Press, saying the punishments "would constitute clear gross abuses of human rights."

"We stand firm with the international community to hold perpetrators of these, of any such abuses, accountable," Price said.

Washington has said any potential recognition of the new Taliban-led government in Kabul, which replaced the Western-backed government that collapsed last month, would depend on respect for human rights,

"We are watching very closely," Price said, "and not just listening to the announcements that come out but watching very closely as the Taliban conducts itself."