The Taliban’s reported capture of Herat in western Afghanistan would mark a stunning victory for the hardliners and yet another devastating blow to President Ashraf Ghani and his fast-collapsing military.
The third-largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about three million, Herat was long considered one of few comparatively safe parts of a country that has been beset by war and violence for four decades.
While never totally spared the types of insurgent attacks that most Afghans must frequently deal with, visitors could nonetheless stroll the clay-brick ramparts of the famous Citadel, dating back to Alexander the Great, whose army founded the fort in about 330 BC in what is now Herat's centre.
Even older is the Great Mosque, whose foundations date back to 500 BC. Over the millennia, it was controlled by several empires that ebbed and flowed across the region, including the mighty Mughals in the 17th century.
Located some 125 kilometres from the Iranian border, Herat is situated in a strategically vital part of Afghanistan that was once a major Silk Road transit point that connected merchants coming from South and Central Asia to the Middle East.
Locals boast that the saffron grown in the city's surrounding terrain is the best in the world. Herat is also renowned for its rugs, standing as it does at the geographical crossroads of several intricate styles of carpet making.
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A burning Humvee marks the end of government territory on a front line in the Bulqa Hay Darqara area, six kilometres from the centre of Herat city, in Herat province, western Afghanistan. -
Local fighters arrive at the front line six kilometres from the centre of Herat city to support Afghan government security forces against a Taliban attack. -
A wedding still goes ahead in Herat, despite ongoing clashes between the Taliban and government forces and their local fighters allies on the outskirts of the city. -
Mohammadullah, 20, is among local fighters loyal to warlord-politician Ismail Khan. He said the government has provided them with weapons. -
Tariq Mohandeszada, 35, is concerned about the conflict moving to the centre of the city and the prospect of the Taliban taking control of Herat. -
Herat governor Abdul Saboor Qani on the front line to the south of Herat. -
Fighters loyal to Ismail Khan prepare to head to the front line in Herat, where they will support Afghan security forces against the Taliban. -
Ismail Khan, a former government minister and governor of Herat province, at his home in Herat, as he prepares to travel to the front line to confront the Taliban. -
Afghan government forces and militia allies work together on the front line. -
Local fighters answering to Ismail Khan say they are there to defend the people of Herat city and ensure the Taliban do not take control. -
A balloon seller continues to work in Herat city centre, despite fighting taking place just a few kilometres away. -
An Afghan security forces Humvee moves through the centre of Herat city. -
Spectators watch a volleyball match in Herat city, despite the Taliban encroaching in surrounding areas. -
Local fighters answering to Ismail Khan on their way to the front line in Herat to face the Taliban.
In recent years, thousands of young Afghans had used Herat as a final staging post before attempting to cross into Iran in hopes of finding work. Many were conscripted into Iran-backed militias fighting in Syria.
The Taliban captured Herat in 1995, three years after the collapse of Afghanistan’s communist government. US-backed forces affiliated with the Northern Alliance won the city back in November 2001 and it had been out of Taliban hands ever since.
On September 13, 2013, armed Taliban militants in a minivan loaded with explosives, descended upon the US consulate in Herat, detonated the bombs and killed eight Afghan men guarding the gates.
