The Taliban staged a dramatic re-enactment of a roadside bomb attack targeting United States forces in Paktia province, forming part of a series of provocative public displays to mark the fifth anniversary of the movement’s return to power. In a separate demonstration in Kandahar, supporters paraded and physically struck an effigy bearing the likeness of US President Donald Trump through local streets.
Visual media broadcasted from the events showed an armoured Humvee flying an upside-down American flag moments before being engulfed by a controlled explosion, simulating the tactics that defined the two-decade insurgency. These demonstrations coincided with 15 August, the date Kabul fell in 2021, which the de facto administration officially commemorates as “Victory Day”. Across the capital and several other provinces, large-scale public gatherings and military parades underscored the milestone.
Throughout their prolonged conflict against international military coalitions and the security forces of the former Western-backed Afghan government, insurgent networks extensively utilised improvised explosive devices against military convoys. Alongside heavy military casualties—including approximately 2,400 American service members killed over the course of the war—these explosive attacks also claimed the lives of countless Afghan civilians.
In preceding years, anniversary celebrations have frequently featured extensive military parades showcasing abandoned international and Afghan state hardware, including operational tanks and tactical vehicles stationed across strategic hubs such as Kabul and Bagram Air Base.
Addressing an official commemorative gathering in the capital, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi drew historical parallels, asserting that foreign powers had repeatedly failed to impose alien governance models on Afghanistan. He contrasted the collapse of the Soviet Union’s communist ambitions with the eventual withdrawal of US and NATO forces, which he argued ultimately facilitated political dialogues such as the Doha agreement. Muttaqi maintained that the Afghan population had decisively rejected foreign occupation, paving the way for the administration’s consolidation of authority across the country.
