Afghanistan's emerald heights: The gem-studded mountains are a pot of gold for anti-Taliban forces.(World)

From: The Christian Science Monitor | Date: July 25, 2000 | Copyright information

Explosions rock this high mountain valley as puffs of smoke rise above the craggy peaks. Fifteen years ago, the blasts could have come from Soviet jets targeting mujahideen hideouts. Today the quarry is emeralds.

Laboring at the end of claustrophobic tunnels, men use metal bars to sift through the rubble dislodged by their dynamite charges.

The brilliant green stones they find are filling the war chest of Ahmad Shah Masood, the commander of the last significant resistance to the Taliban. Since its rise to power in the mid '90s, the Taliban militia has forced its strict ...

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