Afghanistan's version of the Hell's Angels

When you live in a rocky mountainous complex of camps and caves, riding donkeys to and from ambushes is too slow, a Toyota truck is too hard to conceal and running back to your cave is exhausting. Enter the Honda 125cc dirt bike. Ridden by thousands of fun seeking kids, the Honda 125 is fast becoming the Humvee of the Taliban.

Motorcycles have become an emblem of swift and effective attacks that the Taliban have mounted since their regime was ousted in 2001. In 2002 the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, was reported to have fled from coalition forces on a motorcycle. A former Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Salam Rocketi, was given his sobriquet for his ability to shoot down helicopters with shoulder-fired rockets while riding pillion on motorcycles. It was reported in 2003 that a Taliban army was mobilising in Pakistan after buying 1,150 motorcycles.