Thread by @VICENews

NEW: VICE News spent a total of five days inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. This is what we saw. Thread: trib.al/3oEHGsY

It’s just past 5 a.m. on a Friday morning in Kabul and we’re smuggling ourselves out of Afghanistan’s capital city in the backseat of a beat-up car. trib.al/3oEHGsY

“Everything past this last checkpoint is Taliban territory,” our local contact said. From here on out, we were reliant on a small group of Taliban fighters on motorbikes to guide us on our tour. trib.al/3oEHGsY

Arab Shah Khel is a small hilltop village with a sprawling cemetery nearly filled to capacity, a glaring reminder of the true cost of America’s longest war—a war that’s claimed the lives of more than 71,000 Afghan civilians since 2001. trib.al/3oEHGsY

In nearby Mali Khel village, 28-year-old Safiullah is in tears as he recalled the moment an alleged airstrike destroyed a local mosque. “They [the Americans] have insulted our Quran, our mosque. It is like Mecca for us,” he added. trib.al/3oEHGsY

The next morning we were taken to meet Commander Khatab, a military commander of the Band-e-chak district. Flanked by four armed fighters, he appeared agitated by our presence and remained silent for much of the interview. trib.al/3oEHGsY

With American troops leaving Afghanistan, many Afghans fear the Taliban will return to its old ways, restricting women’s rights and ruling society under extreme interpretations of Islamic Shariah law. When asked about this, Khatab evaded the question. trib.al/3oEHGsY

“Stop filming. Stop it,” Khatab said, laughing as he abruptly stopped the interview and told us to put away our cameras and return to Kabul. trib.al/3oEHGsY

Six months later, on the eve of Biden’s inauguration, we were invited back to Wardak to spend three days with the Taliban, and it was clear the security situation had deteriorated. trib.al/3oEHGsY

It’s estimated that the Taliban now controls or contests more than 50 percent of Afghanistan, with over 70 districts fully held by the group. And that number is only growing by the week. trib.al/3oEHGsY

“Afghanistan is run by the system [the Americans] built. That’s not acceptable at all,” said Commander Hamas, surrounded by a group of about 20 fighters, perched on a hilltop overlooking the Tangi Valley. trib.al/3oEHGsY

Read more for the rest of our journey: trib.al/3oEHGsY