Bamiyan - The ruling Taliban yesterday lifted their ban on visiting the site of two colossal statues of the Buddha, allowing outsiders to see the almost total obliteration of Afghanistan's most famous historical monuments.
"It took us 20 days to destroy the statues," an official of the hardline Islamic movement said near where the Buddhas had towered for nearly 2,000 years. "It was a hard job to finish them. We had to use explosive materials," he said, reflecting Taliban indifference to worldwide outrage over the attacks on statues they consider pagan idols.