Afghanistan's Taliban rulers said this evening they had blasted away 80 per cent of two ancient statues of the Buddha and would soon remove the last pieces of Afghanistan's most famous archaeological treasure.
A western source confirmed the destruction of the world's largest statues of the Buddha, in the central province of Bamiyan, and said the operation had been supervised by Defence Minister Mr Mullah Obaidullah who had flown in the explosives from Kabul.
The reports came just before UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan arrived in Pakistan for a 48-hour visit likely to be dominated by worldwide anger over the Taliban order to destroy all statues in Afghanistan on the grounds they are un-Islamic.
The UN General Assembly on yesterday condemned the Taliban decision to destroy what they see as idols. Mr Annan described as lamentable the order by the head of the austere Islamic movement, Mr Mullah Mohammad Omar.
"There is also enormous international concern over the Taliban leadership's decision to destroy historical relics in Afghanistan," Mr Annan said, expressing concern for the humanitarian crisis in the area.
Taliban spokesman Mr Abdul Hayee Mutmaeen said two historic Buddhas had been blasted away. "They have been destroyed up to 80 per cent. The work will be completed soon," he said.
The statues, which had towered 53 metres (175 feet) and 38 metres (120 feet), respectively, were hewn out of sandstone cliffs almost 2,000 years ago.