For more than nine months, Afghan girls over the age of 11 have been prohibited from going to high school. The Taliban have not reneged on the ban they imposed on taking power last August, despite their initial promise to do so. In the western city of Herat, FRANCE 24's reporters followed one teacher who hopes that her former students will be able to continue their education. They also met a teacher who is defying the ban by giving clandestine lessons. Meanwhile, some fathers are trying to convince the authorities to reopen girls' schools for their daughters.

A group of children was playing in a field in Herat when two bombs went off. In a separate incident in southern Afghanistan, at least five children were killed when they found an unexploded shell.

The fundamentalist group, which now rules Afghanistan, put the bodies on display to deter others. The move comes after a Taliban founder said executions and amputations will return.

Herat residents are worried about the situation in the western Afghan city. With the exit of US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan near completion, the Taliban has ramped up its offensive, capturing half the country's districts and border crossings and encircling several provincial capitals.

Hundreds of commandos were deployed to the western city of Herat as the Afghan government forces struggled against Taliban assaults on several major cities, with insurgents stepping up a nationwide offensive.