7 The site of the Bamiyan Buddhas on December 7, 1997. 8 An explosion rips apart one of the Buddhas in March 2001. 9 Taliban militants stand amid the rubble of the destroyed treasures on March 26 ...

Maitre had been to Afghanistan many times, but never to Bamiyan. From a hill, he admired the Buddhas, the wheat fields at their feet, and the Hindu Kush mountains behind them. The valley teemed ...

In Afghanistan, Taliban officials are calling for the preservation of the country's pre-Islamic heritage two decades after the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas. But skepticism remains about the ...

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan — The Taliban’s destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in early 2001 shocked the world and highlighted their hard-line regime, toppled soon after in a U.S.-led invasion.

Ten years ago, the Taliban systematically destroyed the great Bamiyan Buddhas of Afghanistan—two giant statues that watched over the Bamiyan Valley for 1500 years. Now, extensive studies of the ...

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan — They stand like missing hearts carved out of the mountain's chest, abandoned chambers where ancient wonders of the world once gazed placidly. It's been nearly 10 years ...