A climate of terror: 16 of Afghan family cram inside bathroom, hush children as Taliban come knocking on their door

Despite assurances of no reprisals, the Taliban are reportedly conducting door-to-door searches for supporters of the previous regime, leaving a family of 16 cowering in their bathroom fearing a raid.

Fearing Taliban fighters, 16 members of a family crammed inside the bathroom of their house, turned off the lights and mobile phones and covered the children's mouths to keep them quiet. This was a scene on Friday when the Taliban reportedly conducted a door-to-door manhunt for people who helped US forces or the previous Afghan government. It was alleged the militants were going door-to-door to find targets and threaten their family members. There’s a climate of terror all around -- an ex-pat Afghan earlier told Reuters how his family members back home in Kabul cowered inside the bathroom with the lights off and the mouths of the small children tightly covered when the Taliban came knocking on their door. They have already lost two loved ones to the Taliban’s war on the erstwhile US-backed Afghan government.