New Taliban

HEAVILY armed Taliban thugs in British army uniforms and driving US military vehicles have set up checkpoints to extort passing travellers at gunpoint.

The henchmen have dispensed with their traditional black robes, ammunition belts and turbans in exchange for classic army- style fatigues.

They are demanding an illegal toll from anyone who wants to pass the checkpoint on this sun- baked road just outside Kandahar, Afghanistan.

National Highway One links Kandahar with the capital Kabul and refusal to pay the Taliban toll can result in death.

In all, 454 British soldiers died fighting the Taliban. Now the fundamentalists are back, controlling the very roads our soldiers died to protect. And they are using every piece of British and US military equipment and clothing they can steal or buy.

These Taliban thugs are mounted aboard a US Humvee stolen from the Afghan Army, brandishing Americanmade M- 16 assault rifles also taken during a raid on an armoury of the Afghan National Army.

Army bush hats may have replaced the turbans, but their black face masks and official white flags betray they are Taliban.

The grainy picture, right, was taken by a member of the Afghan government. He took it nervously while waiting in a car, claiming every vehicle was stopped and terrified passengers forced to hand over money.

Cars were charged $ 5 and trucks $ 25. He said refusal could easily have

resulted in death. Some passengers were initially confused by what appeared to be Afghan Army or even British or US troops. But the 35- yearold official, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, said the confusion did not last long.

Dream

He said: “National Highway One was where the British patrolled with their tanks and soldiers. This was a safe road and the British soldiers were very friendly.

“It almost looked as if they were back because of the uniforms – but unfortunately it is the Taliban.

“They look like the British soldiers who used to protect us. It is like a bad dream. They are everywhere again. They control the roads outside of the towns. Every three kilometres Taliban have a checkpoint.

“They are very bad people. They take the money from the people and take it to their bosses in Pakistan.”

The white flag flying from the civilian vehicles contains a set of Arabic words on a white background known as the Shahandah, stating the Taliban’s allegiance to Allah.

The British Army moved into Afghanistan in 2001 as part of a coalition tasked with finding the leaders of al- Qaeda after the 9/ 11 attacks.

By the end of 2001 the Taliban regime had collapsed but its fighters staged an insurgency using improvised explosive devices. British casualties were high with 108 deaths in 2009. In 2014 British troops were withdrawn and a resurgent Taliban renewed its grip on the country. the

Taliban thugs, armed to the teeth, patrol the main roads in Afghanistan extorting money from travellers