Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/r7p5p30et8v49r6/VRP55343.mp4?dl=0
This is the moment a Taliban fighter attacked a defiant Afghan local carrying the national flag to show his opposition to the extremist takeover.
Footage shows the militant jumping out of a pick-up truck to pounce on the biker wearing the tri-colored Afghan flag on his back and as a bandana. The fighter then slapped the man across the face before confiscating the flags and returning to the truck.
Anti-Taliban protests have sprung up in the cities of Jalalabad, Asadabad and Khost, where Taliban flags were taken down days after the insurgents’ takeover of Afghanistan.
The demonstrations were met with violence. In Jalalabad, at least a dozen people were injured while three reportedly died when Taliban guards opened fire on the rallyists.
The Taliban, in its press conference on August 17, had earlier called for peace and an end to conflict.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said: ‘We don’t want to repeat any conflict anymore again. We want to do away with the factors for conflict. Therefore, the Islamic Emirate does not have any kind of hostility or animosity with anybody; animosities have come to an end and we would like to live peacefully.’
He added: ‘We don’t want any internal enemies and any external enemies.’