US Edition TALIBAN government ministers took axes to the National Museum in Kabul and broke up 2,750 ancient works of art last year because they depicted living beings which offended their concept of God, it was reported yesterday.
The wrecking crew was led by the minister of information and culture and the minister of finance, the Los Angeles Times said.
Witnesses said they smiled at the dismay that the destruction caused an archaeologist and a historian who pleaded for the artefacts to be saved.
"The minister told us that if we tried to stop the destruction, they would return with soldiers and break our heads with the same axe," the historian, Yahya Mohebzadah, told the newspaper.
In all, they destroyed more than 2,750 items that they considered offensive. Mr Mohebzadah said that a tourist guide to the museum printed in 1974 is all that is left to document the objects, as most of the items listed are gone.