Taliban terrorist says 'we've changed a lot', no longer repressive force

Taliban in Afghanistan insisted Friday they are no longer the repressive force they once were. "We've changed a lot," said one of the fighters, Hafez Sultan Ahmed. "We are polite, our manners are good, and our behaviour is much improved," he told British broadcaster Sky News in Kabul. But the militants remain proud of their resistance against the United States, and Ahmed freely boasted of killing U.S soldiers.

Asked how he felt about killing other people, he replied: "It was jihad, holy war, and in Islam we don't regret this." Residents of Kabul were wary when asked for their views on the Taliban's takeover of the country. "The situation in Afghanistan now is good, not bad," one resident said. "Just the women are not coming out of the houses."