NEW REALITY

Taliban Militant Beats L.A. Times Photographer in Kabul

Although the Taliban have attempted to present a more tolerant image since their takeover, press freedom is still far from guaranteed.

A Taliban militant accosted and beat a photographer for the Los Angeles Times on Thursday, according to the paper. Marcus Yam was taking pictures of a group of Afghans attempting to replace the Taliban flag with the traditional banner of Afghanistan when a militant punched him in the side of the head, knocking him over, and continued to pummel him on the ground, demanding that Yam delete his photographs. The photojournalist said he had been detained for roughly 20 minutes when a member of the Taliban who spoke English approached him and talked to the other militant, then released him and offered him an energy drink.