Farah, Afghanistan

In a madrassa in the Afghan capital, rows of teenage girls rock back and forth reciting verses of the Koran under the watchful eye of a religious scholar.

The number of Islamic schools has grown across Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, with teenage girls increasingly attending classes after they were banned from secondary schools.

Afghan commandos and U.S. air strikes have driven the Taliban to the outskirts of Farah city, officials said on May 16, after a day-long battle to prevent the insurgents from seizing the western provincial capital.

Afghan aircraft bombed Taliban positions on May 15 in the western city of Farah after the insurgents launched a major attempt to capture the provincial capital, with fearful residents seeking shelter from explosions and gunfire.

HERAT, Afghanistan: Taliban fighters attacked Afghan bases in the western province of Farah, killing more than 30 police, officials said on Friday, as the insurgents stepped up their offensive in a region with vital opium smuggling routes into neighbouring Iran.