Hunt on for Afghan man accused of cutting off wife's nose

KABUL, Afghanistan -- An Afghan official says a young woman in a remote northern region of the country had her nose cut off by her husband.

Fawzia Salimi, a hospital director in Maymana, capital of Faryab province, said on Tuesday that the 22-year-old woman, Reza Gul, was brought in early Monday having lost a great deal of blood.

She says Gul had been beaten and tortured by her 25-year-old husband, Mohammad Khan, since he returned from Iran three months ago. Khan has a second wife who is seven years old.

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Khan has disappeared from his village, where Taliban insurgents have a heavy presence. Salimi says both police and the Taliban are searching for him.

Domestic violence is widespread in Afghanistan, where women are often denied constitutional rights designed to protect them.