In its almost two-decade fight with the U.S., the Taliban worked at every turn to undermine the former Afghan government, deriding its leaders as corrupt stooges whose forces could never protect Afghans from the group’s ferocious attacks. But the Taliban is now in charge, and with power comes a daunting challenge: convincing Afghans — many of them with bitter memories of the last time the fundamentalist group ran the government — that it can govern and police as well as it can fight.

       A passing fruit vendor offers bananas to Taliban fighters stationed at a security checkpoint in Kabul, Afghanistan.

       (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

       A Taliban member talks to a motorist at a security checkpoint in Kabul.

       (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

       Nasrat Khoadim, left, a commander, helps fellow Taliban fighters as they arrest a man who was allegedly carrying a sharp weapon in public.

       (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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       Mawlawi Shaker, left, the Taliban’s new chief of Police District 10 in Kabul, Afghanistan, goes through some paperwork.

       (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

       Taliban fighters pray next to civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan.

       (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

       Men wait to discuss legal disputes in the office of Abdul Qadeer Shahadatyar, a Taliban judge.

       (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

       A Taliban patrol is stuck in rush hour traffic in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan.

       (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

       Police District 10 chief Mawlawi Shaker, center, prepares to talk to prisoners in Kabul.

       (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

       Taliban police stand guard at a security checkpoint and watch passing traffic in Kabul, Afghanistan.

       (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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