Afghanistan's war legacy: survivors, amputees and Taliban defiance

Decades of war in Afghanistan have left a devastating legacy, as a special report from Helmand shows. The province, once a battleground for British and other foreign troops, is now home to a rehabilitation centre crowded with survivors. Among them are Taliban fighters wounded in combat, but also children like Abdul Rahman, who was five when he stepped on a mine while collecting scrap metal. Now nearly 11, he has new legs and a passion for sport.

The scale of the problem is immense. Unexploded ordnance litter the country, and the vast majority of victims are children. Funding cuts have halted most demining projects, leaving Afghanistan with one of the world's highest casualty rates from unexploded bombs. The workshops making artificial limbs are never quiet, and most technicians are themselves survivors of catastrophic injuries.

In Sangin, where many British troops were based, the grief is raw. Khatra Tullu was 16 when troops killed his father and uncle. His younger brother later joined the Taliban and died fighting. The family remains angry, with Khatra saying he would go to Britain to take revenge if he could. Village elders say everyone in the area lost at least one relative in the war.

The Taliban, now in control, are keen to present themselves as potential business partners. In Wardak, the Taliban information director showed a bomb museum and insisted that claims of terrorism and unfair treatment of women are 'fake news'. When asked about regret for killing foreign soldiers, he said they only regret not killing more.

The human cost is also visible in the rehabilitation centre. Asadullah was 15 when a drone strike hit his home, killing his brother and costing him a leg. He was treated at Camp Bastion, where troops apologised, but he says sorry means nothing. Yet there is inspiration too. Abdullah Mansour, a leading wheelchair basketball player who lost his leg at eight, now inspires others, including young Abdul Rahman. The team wants female para-athletes to compete, but under Taliban rules they are banned from sport and higher education.

The war has created a generation of amputees, an extremist regime, and a thirst for revenge. But there is also courage and optimism, as Afghanistan tries to rebuild.