Tag: Afghanistan war

World

Afghanistan war: Taliban back brutal rule as they strike for power

The "ghanimat" or spoils of war they're showing off include a Humvee, two pick-up vans and a number of powerful machine guns. Ainuddin, a stony-faced former madrassa (religious school) student who's now an area military commander, stands at the centre of a heavily-armed crowd. The insurgents are capturing new territory on what looks like a day to day as international troops have about withdrawn. Caught within the middle may be a terrified population. Tens of thousands of ordinary Afghans have had to escape their homes - hundreds are killed or injured in recent weeks. The displaced people hoping for safety in Kabul I ask Ainuddin how he can justify the violence, given the pain it's inflicting on the people he claims to be fighting on behalf of? "It's fighting, so people are dying," he repli...