A soldiers stands guard on the road in the Panjshir Valley Parvan Province

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Soldiers guard the roads in the Panjshir Valley as important guests arrive for the one year anniversary of the assasination of Ahmad Shah Masood September 9 2002. The Panjshir Valley was a stronghold for the Tajik people and the famous commander Masood in their struggle first against the Soviets and then against the Taliban. The valley and villages of the Panjshir were subjected to heavy bombing and destruction during the Afghan-Soviet war but was never fully occupied. Now it is the heartland for the powerful Tajik ethnic group the second largest in Afghanistan and their heavily armed militias. The Tajiks have partial power in the Afghan government after the fall of the Taliban.

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Size: 4692px × 3144px
Location: Panjshir Valley Parvan Afghanistan
Photo credit: © Beth Wald / Aurora Photos / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: army, asia, central, journalismcollection, man, military, militia, panjshir, panshir, soldier, tajik