In pics: When the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan

Fighters of the Islamic Taliban militia rehearse at the frontline south of Kabul ahead of their offensive against the Afghan capital, October 1995. (Credits: Reuters)

An Afghan soldier loyal to President Burhanuddin Rabbani mans an anti-aircraft gun as he keeps watch over the skies of Kabul. (Credits: Reuters)

Northern Alliance soldiers carry weapons on the front line near Zarkamar town in the north of Afghanistan. (Credits: Reuters)

A Northern Alliance fighter points at Taliban positions bombed by US Air Force B-52s in Moshin-Ab, some 35 km north of the Afghan capital Kabul. (Credits: Reuters)

Fighters of the Northern Alliance guard one of the main roads near Kabul following the withdrawl of Taliban fighters from the capital. (Credits: Reuters)

Taliban Islamic militia fighters watch civil servants and residents marching through the Afghan capital of Kabul, October 1996. (Credits: Reuters)

Afghan refugees walk along the road fleeing fighting north of Kabul, October 1996. (Credits: Reuters)

A Taliban fighter points his rocket propelled grenade launcher towards the sky during a visit by foreign journalists to the outskirts of Kandahar. (Credits: Reuters)

Afghans look at a crator caused by a bomb dropped during US air strikes in Kabul, October 18, 2001. (Credits: Reuters)

Northern Alliance fighters atop a Russian made T-62 tank arrive in the outskirts of Kabul. (Credits: Reuters)

A US Air Force B-52 flies over after releasing its bombs on front line Taliban positions near Bagram airport, some 30kms north of Kabul. (Credits: Reuters)

Afghans walk in Kabul amid concern about a possible military intervention in Afghanistan by the United States. (Credits: Reuters)

A Northern Alliance rocket-launcher fires as Taliban positions at the border of Kunduz province. ( Credits: Reuters)

Taliban prisoners line up outside a jail in opposition-held Khoja Bahawuddin in northern Afghanistan. (Credits: Reuters)

Two soldiers watch as dust and smoke rises near the village of Ai-Khanum in northern Afghanistan. (Credits: Reuters)

A mob of pro-Taliban Afghan refugees run to attack members of the international press. (Credits: Reuters)

Displaced Afghan families wait at a temporary camp in Herat, Afghanistan, to be transferred to UN-sponsored camps. (Credits: Reuters)

Taliban militia fire a jeep-mounted BM-12 rocket launcher towards a village north of Kabul. (Credits: Reuters)