Inside the Taliban

“Salar is the new Fallujah,” a Taliban commander tells a reporter from The Guardian who visited the Afghan city, which is 50 miles south of Kabul. "The Americans and Afghan army control the highway, and five meters on each side. The rest is our territory.” Over three years, the commander’s ranks have grown from 6 to 500 soldiers. The Taliban is focusing on “controlling the countryside, establishing an alternative administration and squeezing the cities by eroding the government control.” According to The Guardian, “Many say the civilian apparatus of the Taliban-run districts operates a more effective justice system than the government's, which is corrupt and inefficient.”