Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan  - Next to the governor's palace in Tarin Kowt, hawkers spread their wares at Uruzgan province's largest bazaar.

While merchants sell food and clothing or offer services they are drinking tea and smoke in their small shops. No women, not even a single burqa, are in sight.

In Uruzgan, a conservative region even for southern Afghanistan's standards, locals are open about their sympathies for Taliban militants.