BIZARRE footage has emerged showing members of the Taliban riding bumper cars in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
The Islamist militant organisation arrived in the capital city on Sunday, and were almost completely unopposed following the withdrawal of US troops from the region.
Their arrival lead to the immediate collapse of the Afghan government, and the Taliban have since declared an end to the long-standing national conflict, and have urged citizens to go back to work, despite chilling reports that members have been kidnapping women and girls as young as 12 to take as sex slaves.
Footage was released appearing to show a number of Taliban fighters enjoying the dodgems at a local amusement park following their successful takeover of Kabul.
The men could be seen holding their guns in their laps as they enjoyed themselves at the fair, and other videos shows more soldiers riding the merry-go-round and bouncing on a trampoline.
🇦🇫 #Afghanistan : d’autres images de la prise de contrôle du parc par les #talibans. (témoins) #Kabul #Kaboul pic.twitter.com/oqzb07KOLb
— Mediavenir (@Mediavenir) August 16, 2021
The hardline Islamist group ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 until they were forcibly removed by US forces in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
US President Joe Biden has been widely criticised for moving forward with plans to remove all US troops from the country, particularly after his advisers warned him that the Taliban would quickly take the country over once American soldiers had left.
On Monday, Biden defended his decision to withdraw, claiming that America had done all it could to train Afghanistan's security forces to defend against a Taliban incursion.
Taliban's terrorists right now: pic.twitter.com/2F8qHzw6No
— Asaad Sam Hanna (@AsaadHannaa) August 16, 2021
The president stated that America's mission in Afghanistan was focused around "counter-terrorism" rather than "nation-building", and that he didn't want to lose any more American lives for a cause that wasn't in the national interest of the country.
"I'm clear in my answer: I will not repeat the mistakes we've made in the past. The mistake of staying and fighting indefinitely in a conflict that is not in the national interest of the United States," Biden said.
