Armed members of Taliban Islamic students' movement sit atop an armoured personnel carrier as they prepare in their forward camp at Sheikhabad in the southeastern Afghan province of Wardak on February 4 to invade the provincial capital Maidan Shahr. Maidan Shahr is the last stronghold controlled by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's opposition Hezbi Islami party in Taliban's advance from the south to the capital Kabul 

A fighter of the Afghan Islamic student militia known as Taliban, looks on papers at the ransacked office of Hezb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in Charasyab south of Kabul on February 13 

Fighters of the Afghan Islamic student militia known as Taliban stand beside weapons left behind by Hezb-e-Islami faction after fleeing its Charasyab headquarters south of Kabul on February 13 

A fighter of the Afghan Islamic student militia known as Taliban guards a captured Mi-8 Russian helicopter at a landing pad at the former headquarters of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami faction south of Kabul on February 17 

Fighters of the Afghan Islamic student militia known as Taliban cluster atop a tank as one of them makes a loudspeaker announcement in Charasyab on February 17 

An Afghan fighter loyal to [President Burhanuddin Rabbani] attacks a military base of Taliban Islamic Student forces outside Kabul. Taliban forces were driven out of its newly-captured Karte Seh district in southwestern Kabul by Rabbani loyalists. Picture taken 12MAR95 

Leaders of the opposition Islamic Taliban faction and representatives of the Afghan governmrnt hold talks in a hillside bunker overlooking Taliban positions in Muhammad Agha, 35k km (22 miles) south of Kabul June 9. Later the two sides agreed to a ceasefire and exchange of prisoners 

Afghan Islamic students' Taliban militia men stand with an eagle mascot on a camouflaged gun near the frontline at Maidan Shahr, about 25 km west of Kabul on September 25. They were preparing for an anticipated offensive against pro-government troops and vowed to seize the capital using whatever force is necessary 

Taliban Islamic student militia ready with their anti-aircraft gun in Maidan Shahr in Afghanistan. The Taliban student militia and forces loyal to [President Burhanddin-Rabbani] are embattled in factional fighting. Picture taken 21 SEP 95 

An Afghan pro-government soldier stands guard at the front line in Maidan Shahr in Afghanistan with his machine gun ready. Taliban student militia and President Burhanddin-Rabbani forces are embattled in factional fighting. Picture taken 21 SEP 95 

Fighters of the Islamic Taliban militia rehearse at Mohammad Agha frontline, 45 km south of Kabul on October 9 ahead of their offensive against the Afghan capital. The Taliban reached the gates of Kabul on October 11 after capturing the key town of Charasiyab just south of the city 

Fighters of the Islamic Taliban militia stand on their tanks at Mohammad Agha frontline, 45 km south of Kabul on October 9 ahead of their offensive against the Afghan capital. The Taliban reached the gates of Kabul October 11 after capturing the key town of Charasiyab just south of the city 

Afghan soldiers loyal to President [Burhanuddin Rabbani] stand with armoured vehicles near Kabul October 13 as they try to fend off an offensive launched by the Islamic Taliban militia. The two sides were still fighting on the southern edge of the capital October 16, but frontlines have changed little since the initial Taliban thrust 

Afghan soldiers loyal to President [Burhanuddin Rabbani ] dig fresh trenches near Kabul October 11 to repel an offensive launched by the Islamic Taliban militia. The two sides were still fighting on the southern edge of the capital on October 16, but frontlines have changed little since the initial Taliban thrust 

Fighters loyal to Afghanistan's President [Burhanuddin-Rabbani ] ride on top of a tank on October 18 in the southern suburbs of capital Kabul to defend against an attack by the Islamic Taliban militia 

Afghan soldiers loyal to President [Burhanuddin Rabbani] enjoy sunshine at the war-ruined former royal Darul Aman palace in Kabul on January 29 with a tank dug in as artillery prepares to pound the rebel Taliban militia positions on the other side of the hill. 

An Afghan soldier loyal to President [Burhanuddin Rabbani ] mans an anti-aircraft gun as he keeps watch over the skies of Kabul from atop a mountain overlooking the city February 9. The Afghan government has been warning that an offensive by the opposition Taliban militia on the capital is imminent 

A fighter of the Taliban Islamic militia guards a newly built post near the Panjsher Valley, September 30. The Taliban Islamic movement appealed October 1 for international recognition as the new government of Afghanistan and pledged not to interfere in other countries' internal affairs. 

A fighters of the Taliban Islamic militia stands on a truck than transportes an anti-aircraft-gun, near the Panjsher Valley, September 30. The Taliban Islamic movement appealed October 1 for international recognition as the new government of Afghanistan and pledged not to interfere in other countries' internal affairs. 

A Burqa -wearing Afghan mother, holding her child as they pass along a Kabul street Oct 1. Women in Kabul must wear strict Islamic veils after the Afghan capital's new fundamentalist Taliban ordered all women to stay at home and barred them from working or learning.
**POOR QUALITY DOCUMENT** 

Uzbek forces of northern warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum deploys tanks and anti-aircraft machineguns at the entrance of the Salang Tunnel, 100 km north of Kabul October 2. Afghanistan's warlike hardline Islamist Taliban militia has ordered its forces to move against the Uzbek forces and against former defence minister [Ahmad Shah Masood's ] forces in the nearby Panjsher Valley. 

Afghan refugees walk along the road fleeing fighting north of Kabul October 11. Afghan fighters opposing the country's new purist Islamic Taleban rulers cut the main road north of Kabul killing several Taleban militia.

AFGHAN 

Taleban militia fire a jeep-mounted BM-12 rocket launcher towards a village north of Kabul October 11. Afghan fighters opposing the country's new purist Islamic Taleban rulers cut the main road north of Kabul killing several Taleban militia.

AFGHAN 

An Afghan Taliban fighter tries to retrieve a shoe with his Kalachnikov at a zoo in Kabul October 13. 

Taliban Islamic militia fighters watch civil servants and residents marching through the Afghan capital of Kabul, October 17. A few thousands demonstrators protested against what Taliban calls interference [of Iran, Russia and India in Afghan affairs.] 

A young Afghan watches Taliban Islamic militia fighters, civil servants and residents marching through the Afghan capital of Kabul, October 17. Thousands of demonstrators protested against what Taliban calls interference [of Iran, Russia and India in Afghan affairs]. 

An Afghan woman wearing her burkha walks past a shop selling newly made burkhas in the Afghan capital, October 18. The Islamic Taliban militia who took Kabul three weeks ago, require women to be fully veiled when leaving the house. 

Afghan Islamic Taliban militia fighters drive a tank through the Afghan capital on their way to the north of the country October 19. [The forces of ousted Afghan government military chief Ahmad Shah Masood, backed by the artillery of Uzbeck chief Abdul Rashid Dostum, made major gains in overnight fighting north of Kabul.] World calls for peace in Afghanistan widened as the ousted government said its forces seized a major airbase, near Taliban-occupied Kabul. 

Afghan Islamic Taliban militia fighters talk to the driver of a rocket launcher coming back from the frontline, outside the Afghan capital October 19. [The forces of ousted Afghan government military chief Ahmad Shah Masood, backed by the artillery of Uzbeck chief Abdul Rashid Dostum, made major gains in overnight fighting north of Kabul. ]World calls for peace in Afghanistan widened as the ousted government said its forces seized a major airbase, near Taliban-occupied Kabul. 

Afghan families flee from this village 18 km north of Kabul October 21 after Taliban fighters retook two hills from ousted Afghan military chief [ Shah Masood. ]The two sides battling for control of ground on the plain, trade sporadic tank, artillery and rocket fire.
**POOR QUALITY DOCUMENT** 

Afghan refugees continue to flee this area 20 km north of Kabul October 22 as Taliban fighters pour rockets into positions [held by former government military chief Ahmad Shah Masood]. International pressure for a ceasefire in Afghanistan grows, but there is no sign on the ground of the two sides suspending their battle for the plains north of the capital. 

Afghan Islamic Taliban fighters shoot a rocket launcher towards the positions of ousted Afghan military chief [Ahmad Shah Masood ] in this village north of Kabul October 22. 

An Afghan refugee flees to safety with his two children on a motorcycle towards Kabul October 24. Ceasefire talks between warring factions appear to be nearing collapse, making a new push on Kabul by anti-Taliban forces increasingly likely. 

An Afghan Islamic Taliban fighter takes his position on a hill 20 km north of Kabul October 25, facing former government forces. Warplanes flew repeated sorties over the battlefield and the Taliban movement signalled that ceasefire talks were dead. 

An Islamic Taliban fighter shoots a soviet-made 152 mm canon towards former government forces, 20 km north of Kabul October 25. Warplanes flew repeated sorties over the battlefield and the Taliban movement signalled strongly that ceasefire talks were over. 

Islamic Taliban militia shoot anti-aircraft guns during a night bombing raid in Kabul, October 27. The raids, carried out by the small airforce of Uzbek chief [Abdul Rashid-Dostum ]for the second night running, failed to damage Kabul airport, used for both military and civilian traffic. (Picture taken with time exposure) 

An Afghan Islamic Taliban fighter runs away through ammunition as a D-30 soviet-made 152 mm canon is fired, 20km north of the Afghan capital November 2. Sporadic exchanges of artillery and rocket fire have continued between the Taliban and the former government forces deadlocked in a range of hills across the Shamali valley for two weeks. 

Afghan Islamic Taliban fighters fire a Soviet-made cannon against former government forces on the front line, 30 km north of the Afghan capital, Kabul, November 5. [The dismissal of the Pakistan's government of Prime Minister Benazir-Bhutto could have important ramifications for Afghanistan's Taleban militia, now locked in war with a northern alliance.] 

An Afghan Islamic Taliban fighter pulls the lanyard to fire a Soviet-built 122mm artillery piece about 20 km north of the Afghan capital November 24. The Taliban claimed to have driven forces loyal to the opposition alliance out of a strategic village 22 km north of Kabul. 

An Afghan Islamic Taliban fighter prays beside his machine gun at dusk on the artillery front line north of the Kabul November 26. The Taliban, who claim to control much of the country, have vowed to impose their puritanical interpretation of Islamic Law on Afghanistan. 

Taliban fighters on an armoured personnel carrier drive through the village of Hussain Kot, their frontline against opposition forces, some 19 km (12 miles) north of the capital Kabul on August 2. The Taliban have been trying to fend off opposition attacks on the capital for the past two weeks. 

A group of Afghan boys recycle ammunition cases used during Afghanistan's civil war into water buckets as they pass by rebel tanks near the front line with Taliban government forces August 5. A battle in 45 degree celsius temperatures is in progress for control of the Afghan capital, about 20 kilometres north of Kabul.
**DIGITAL IMAGE** 

A file photo of the large Buddah that soar 53 metres (174 feet) above Bamiyan, the capital of the central province of Afghanistan Bamiyan in this November 24, 1997 file phoeo. The radical Taliban movement began smashing all statues from Afghanistan's rich cultural past on Thursday, turning its back on ungent international appeals to save the ancient artefacts.

AH 

The Colossal Buddhas of Bamiyan in the capital of the central province of Afghanistan Bamiyan in November 24, 1997. The radical Taliban movement began smashing all statues from Afghanistan's rich cultural past, turning its back on unrgent international appeals to save the ancient artefacts.

AH 

A visitor walks past the 55-metre-high Buddha statue in Bamiyan, central Afghanistan in this December 18, 1997 file photo. The Taliban on Monday ordered all statues in the country to be smashed, putting a question mark over the fate of the ancient and world-renowned Buddhist monuments in the war-ravaged country. Archaeologists have expressed concern for Afghanistan's best-known archaeological site - two giant Buddhas hewn from cliffs in the central town of Bamiyan that date from before the arrival of Islam in the ninth century.

JDP 

A file photo of the large Buddah that soar 53 metres (174 feet) above Bamiyan, the capital of the central province of Afghanistan Bamiyan in this November 24, 1997 file photo. The radical Taliban movement began smashing all statues from Afghanistan's rich cultural past on Thursday, turning its back on ungent international appeals to save the ancient artefacts. 

A scene of the large Buddah that soars 53 metres (174 feet) and a small town lying at the very heart of the Hindu Kush mountains in a beautiful valley containing one of most remarkable achievemnts - the Colossal Buddhas of Bamiyan in the capital of the central province of Afghanistan Bamiyan in November 24, 1997. The radical Taliban movement began smashing all statues from Afghanistan's rich cultural past, turning its back on unrgent international appeals to save the ancient artefacts. 

FILE PHOTOGRAPH OF PREVIOUS DAMAGE TO THE FACE OF A GIANT STATUE OF BUDDHA IN THE AFGHANISTAN CITY OF BAMIYAN.


The damaged face of a 53-meter-high Buddha statue, chipped away by various Muslim rulers over past centuries, is seen in this December 18, 1997 file photograph in Bamiyan, central Afghanistan. The country's ruling Taliban have blown up the top quarter of this statue, a Pakistan-based Afghan news service reported March 9, 2001. 

A man rides his bicycle past the front of Kabul museum in the Afghan capital March 18, 2001. The ruling Taliban say they have destroyed all the statues of the museum in Kabul and in other parts of the country including two in the centre of the country.

MK/CP 

A view of the Kabul Museum in the Afghan capital March 18, 2001. The ruling Taliban say they have destroyed all the statues of the museum in Kabul and in other parts of the country including the two in the centre of the country.

MK/CP 

Afghans ride bicycles past war-damaged building in the Afghan capital Kabul March 20, 2001. Twenty-one years of war in Afghanistan have not just prevented new building, they have obliterated much of what existed before. And the Taliban, who seized power from earlier warlords in 1996, have imposed an equally bleak social landscape. TO ACCOMPANY FEATURE AFGHAN-LIFE.

mk/CRB 

Journalists film ceramic collections at the National Museum in the Afghan capital Kabul March 22, 2001. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities threw open the doors to the museum on Thursday to show they had destroyed all the statues that once formed the heart of the collection.

SS/CP 

A ruling Taliban fighter sits on a piece of rubble in front of one of the demolished Buddha statues in the central Afghan province of Bamiyan on March 26, 2001. Afghanistan's ruling taliban needed 20 days to destroy two giant Buddhas hewn into a cliff more than 1,500 years ago, an official said on Monday.

SS/CP 

FIGHTERS OF THE AFGHAN RULING TALIBAN AND JOURNALISTS STAND IN FRONT OF ONE OF THE DESTROYED BUDDHA STATUES IN BAMINYAN.


Afghan soldiers from the ruling Taliban movement and visiting journalists stand in front of one of the destroyed Buddha statues in the central province of Bamiyan on March 26, 2001. Afghanistan's ruling Taliban needed 20 days to destroy two giant Buddhas hewn into a cliff more than 1,500 years ago, an official said on Monday. 

Journalists look at one of the demolished Buddha statues in the central Afghan province of Bamiyan on March 26, 2001. Afghanistan's ruling Taliban needed 20 days to destroy two giant Buddhas hewn into a cliff more than 1,500 years ago, an official said on Monday.

SS/CP 

POY - YEAREND PICTURES 2001 - A Taliban fighter sits on a piece of
rubble in front of one of the demolished Buddha statues in the central
Afghan province of Bamiyan on March 26, 2001. Afghanistan's ruling
taliban took 20 days to destroy two giant Buddhas hewn into a cliff
more than 1,500 years ago. REUTERS/Sayed Salahuddin

AS 

A ruling Taliban fighter sits on a piece of rubble in front of one of the demolished Buddha statues in the central Afghan province of Bamiyan on March 26, 2001. Afghanistan's ruling Taliban took 20 days to destroy two giant Buddhas hewn into a cliff more than 1,500 years ago, an official said on Monday. 

Journalists look at one of the demolished Buddha statues in the central Afghan province of Bamiyan on March 26, 2001. Afghanistan's ruling Taliban needed 20 days to destroy two giant Buddhas hewn into a cliff more than 1,500 years ago, an official said on Monday. 

Afghan soldiers from the ruling Taliban movement and visiting journalists stand in front of one of the destroyed Buddha statues in the central province of Bamiyan on March 26, 2001. Afghanistan's ruling Taliban needed 20 days to destroy two giant Buddhas hewn into a cliff more than 1,500 years ago, an official said on Monday. 

Displaced Afghan families wait at a temporary camp in Herat, Afghanistan, to be transferred to U.N.-sponsored camps May 1, 2001. More than 100,000 people who fled from drought and civil war took refuge at the camps. The U.N. sent its top refugee official to the headquarters of the internationally sanctioned Taliban Tuesday to plea for a temporary cease fire to allow increased humanitarian aid to reach millions of desperate Afghans. REUTERS/POOL/B.K.

TT/BK