An Afghan boy ducks as dynamite rocks the mountains surrounding the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul October 3, 1996. Fighters loyal to guerrilla chief Ahmad Shah Masood plant explosives to bring a landslide down across the road to prevent an expected assault by Afghanistan's hardline Islamist Taleban militia.
Afghan refugees walk along the road fleeing fighting north of Kabul October 12, 1996. The forces of ousted Afghan military chief Ahmad Shah Masood hit the Islamic Taleban militia in a town behind the front lines, putting scores of the black-turbanned warriors to flight.
An Afghan woman wearing her burkha walks past a shop selling newly made burkhas in the Afghan capital October 18, 1996. The Islamic Taleban militia who took Kabul three weeks ago, require women to be fully veiled when leaving the house.
Afghan families flee from this village 18 km north of Kabul October 21, 1996, after Taleban fighters have retaken two hills from ousted Afghan military chief Ahmad Shah Masood. The two sides battling for control of ground on the plain, trade sporadic tank, artillery and rocket fire.
Mines, rockets, bombs, the equivalent of 750 kg of TNT, explode outside Kabul October 26,1996, as part of the demining programme of the Afghan Technical Consultant (ATC), just before bombers struck at Kabul airport in the first night-time raids in memory. The aid group has destroyed about 50,000 bombs and mines since 1995, all collected in and around Kabul.
Afghanistan's purist Islamic Taleban uses a heavy battle tank to crush hundreds of cans of beer October 24, 1996, to demonstrate their loathing of alcohol. The tank drove over the bottles and cans a dozen times, sending streams of foam over bystanders. The Taleban did not say where the beer had come from, saying only it had been seized.
Afghanistan's purist Islamic Taleban fighters laugh from their battle tank as they crush beer cans to demonstrate their loathing of alcohol, October 24, 1996. The tank drove over the cans a dozen times, spraying beer over bystanders. The Taleban did not say where the beer had come from, saying only it had been seized.
Mines, rockets, bombs, the equivalent of 750 kg of TNT, explode outside Kabul October 26,1996, as part of the demining programme of the Afghan Technical Consultant (ATC), just before bombers struck at Kabul airport in the first night-time raids in memory. The aid group has destroyed about 50,000 bombs and mines since 1995, all collected in and around Kabul.
An Afghan boy examines strip of movie snatched from the flames of a bonfire in front of downtown Kabul's Zaynab cinema by the Purist Islamic Taleban, October 14, 1996. The militia has banned music and television and imposed Islam stern Shariah law on the city and last week crushed bottles of alcohool under the treads of a tank to demonstrate its abhorrence of such things.
IslamicTaleban militia burns movies in a bonfire in front of downtown Kabul's Zaynab cinema October 14, 1996. The militia has banned music and television and imposed Islam stern Shariah law on the city and last week crushed bottles of alcohool under the treads of a tank to demonstrate its abhorrence of such things.
Afghan Islamic Taleban fighters take a rest, 20 km north of Kabul October 25. Warplanes flew repeated sorties over the battlefield and the Taleban movement signalled strongly that ceasefire talks were over.
