+ infoThey call themselves Mujahideen.
Many have been Taliban fighters for most of their lives. During the war, they had one focus: To expel foreign forces, especially the U.S., from Afghanistan.
Overnight on Aug. 15, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan became the Islamic Emirate, ruled by the Taliban. In this new era, they have a new mission: To keep the peace.
In Kabul, the Taliban are ruling over a population eager for an end to crime and corruption. But many also fear the former insurgents will impose the same strict version of Islamic law they did last time in power, in the 1990s. That meant everything from hand amputations for thieves to beatings for those who cut their beards, removal of women from public life and banning of most music and entertainment.
In police districts across Kabul, young fighters emerging fresh from the battlefields are now patrolling the streets of the Afghan capital.
These are portraits of some of the new rules of Afghanistan.
Sept, 2021.
