Q&A: The Taliban
Their funding, their weapons and their evolution since being ousted as Afghanistan's rulers
How are they funded?
The Taliban say there is no solid source of finance, but they make money from taxing the poppy crop and the looting of government weapons, trucks and cars.
They also receive "donations" from Afghans in Pakistan and from Arab individuals.
Where do their weapons come from?
The weapons seen by the Guardian were from the Soviet era. Ammunition is bought from smugglers on the Pakistan border. Even so, every Taliban the Guardian talked to complained that they do not have enough ammunition.
How many casualties have they suffered?
A Taliban commander said that he had lost a few men in the past year but did not say how many exactly. The Taliban say the government's casualty figures remind them of the Soviet-backed Najibullah regime, when every day the government claimed that dozens of mujahideen were killed."Very soon Nato will kill all of the Afghans through their casualty numbers," Mullah Muhamadi said.
How do they differ from the Taliban who ran Afghanistan?
Taliban usually refer to the closing of schools and the movement's alignment with al-Qaida as mistakes. They say that in some Taliban-run areas they are allowing schools to be open – as in Ghazni for example.
When I asked a former Taliban official if the alliance with Bin Laden was a strategic mistake he replied: "With my heart and soul I say yes it was a mistake.
"Bin Laden should have respected the oath of allegiance that he gave to Mullah Omar and he should have respected his authority as the Emir and not undermine the Islamic state."
The Taliban say there is no solid source of finance, but they make money from taxing the poppy crop and the looting of government weapons, trucks and cars.
They also receive "donations" from Afghans in Pakistan and from Arab individuals.
Where do their weapons come from?
The weapons seen by the Guardian were from the Soviet era. Ammunition is bought from smugglers on the Pakistan border. Even so, every Taliban the Guardian talked to complained that they do not have enough ammunition.
How many casualties have they suffered?
A Taliban commander said that he had lost a few men in the past year but did not say how many exactly. The Taliban say the government's casualty figures remind them of the Soviet-backed Najibullah regime, when every day the government claimed that dozens of mujahideen were killed."Very soon Nato will kill all of the Afghans through their casualty numbers," Mullah Muhamadi said.
How do they differ from the Taliban who ran Afghanistan?
Taliban usually refer to the closing of schools and the movement's alignment with al-Qaida as mistakes. They say that in some Taliban-run areas they are allowing schools to be open – as in Ghazni for example.
When I asked a former Taliban official if the alliance with Bin Laden was a strategic mistake he replied: "With my heart and soul I say yes it was a mistake.
"Bin Laden should have respected the oath of allegiance that he gave to Mullah Omar and he should have respected his authority as the Emir and not undermine the Islamic state."
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