RIFLE-WIELDING Taliban fighters have seen captured enjoying pedalo rides to celebrate the one year anniversary of their bloody takeover of Afghanistan.
The hard-core jihadis were seen basking on the lakes in Band-e-Amir national park, a popular weekend destination in the country.
Photos show men brandishing AK-47s dressed in camouflage military kit and traditional outfits smiling and chatting among themselves in the area dubbed Afghanistan's Grand Canyon.
Some fighters were seen jumping into the water as temps soared above 40C.
It comes as the Taliban prepare to celebrate the one year anniversary of its violent take-over of the Middle Eastern country from the US on August 15.
Since taking power, the female-hating jihadis have undone many of the gains made by women in the two decades of US intervention.
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In a rare site, some 40 women marched in front of the education ministry building in Kabul on Saturday.
The protesters chanted "bread, work and freedom" and carried a banner reading "August 15 is a black day" before being split up by Taliban fighters who fired round into the air.
The women – who were calling for work rights and greater political participation – took refuge in nearby shops and were chased down and beaten with rifle butts, according to reports.
Reporters covering the march, where women protested without face veils and called for justice – were also beaten by Taliban fighters.
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The dire juxtaposition between a calm and happy Afghani population and the reality on the ground was showcased in similar snaps in September last year.
Taliban fighters splashed around on pedalos in the same national park – hours after female staff were banned from going to work.
Gleeful gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and Kalashnikov assault rifles were spotted on swan-shaped pedalos in central Bamiyan province.
Bamiyan is where the Taliban blew up two mammoth 1,500-year-old statues of Buddha – carved into a mountain – in 2001, just before the US-led invasion.
The swanning around took place weeks after the Taliban seized control in Afghanistan, when video emerged showing some having fun riding dodgems at a captured theme park.
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Bizarre video showed the heavily armed fanatics, who carry out brutal executions, stonings and amputations, also riding on a kids' merry-go-round.
Pictures of the carefree militants enjoying themselves on swan pedalos came as the mayor of Kabul, Hamdullah Namony, ordered female staff to stay home in the latest blow to women’s rights since the hardline zealots seized power five weeks ago.
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