Video shows Taliban moving freely
Aljazeera has received a copy of a video showing Taliban fighters destroying a government building in eastern Afghanistan close to the Pakistani border.
The video, broadcast on Tuesday, showed the Taliban moving freely on the main roads of the area despite the constant US-led search operations to hunt them down.
The undated video, with blurred images, also showed the fighters communicating with each other via wireless phones and implanting mines on roads frequently used by US troops.
After finishing their operation, the fighters collected what they called “battle trophies” while one of them called for prayers. The Taliban members also vowed to continue fighting, referring to Usama Bin Ladin’s call to challenge the US forces.
The US ousted the Taliban regime in 2001 after blaming them for harbouring the radical al-Qaida network allegedly responsible for the 11 September attacks.
Tense situation
The video comes amid deteriorating security across Afghanistan. The war-torn country’s southern and southeastern parts have particularly witnessed a number of attacks and kidnappings.
On Tuesday a Canadian peacekeeper was killed and three others injured when explosives were detonated near their patrol. Also, a bomb blast in Kandahar on 6 January killed 15 people and injured many.
The renewed violence has fuelled speculations over the Taliban and remnants of the outlawed al-Qaida regrouping in Afghanistan’s mountainous countryside.The violence has forced UN and humanitarian agencies to scale down their operations in many regions.