The Taliban seems to be taking a move straight out of the “Barbie Movie.”
Video uploaded to YouTube and circulating on social media appears to show AR-47 armed Taliban security forces patrolling the streets on rollerblades.
Several could be seen skating between traffic alongside a truck, where one terrorist is helming a turret.
At other times in the 22-minute long video, the Taliban fighters could be seen “skitching,” or grabbing onto the moving truck to be towed.
The video was uploaded by YouTuber Yadullah Marvi, who describes himself online as a parkour athlete in the city, on Nov. 11.
“The first part of the military performance of figure skating in the streets of Kabul,” Marvi wrote in the description of the video.
“In this video, the movement of our figure skaters were filmed, and people’s reactions were also filmed, and this is the first part of the video. Wait for the next parts!”
Throughout the video, the Taliban fighters seem to be skilled skaters — using “t-stops” and crossover skating.
At one point, one fighter could even be seen flipping direction to face backward while holding onto a truck.
All of the Taliban fighters in the video were wearing camouflage uniforms, on which several had attached black and white Velcro flags of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — the formal name of the government installed by the Taliban following the US’s departure, according to Task and Purpose.
As they approached intersections and traffic, they could be seen speeding ahead in the gaps between the lanes to either stop cross traffic or force drivers to clear a path for them.
Nearly everyone in the truck could be seen filming on their phones, including several who lean out the window for a better view.
One skater is also seen wearing civilian-style headphones and could be seen pulling out his phone as if he were changing a song on a playlist.
But the video also included dramatic music playing in the background, as sirens blared to warn residents of their presence.
Khalid Zadron, the Kabul police spokesman, confirmed the video was genuine and showed officers from public security police operating under the Ministry of Interior, he told The Telegraph.
Another Taliban security officer also said he witnessed the event.
“It was really fun: amazing balance and body strength,” he told the UK outlet.
“It might be common in the world elsewhere, but for us, it was rare to see on the roads of Kabul.”
The video appears to be part of the terrorist group’s efforts to rebrand itself.
It has also shared photos of Taliban fighters enjoying amusement parks and swinging on swing sets.
Prior to their takeover of the country, the Taliban also shared videos and photos of them working out and eating ice cream.
Neha Ansari, a Washington-based counterterrorism analyst, conceded that this is “a very different Taliban.”
“They are seasoned fighters, very tech savvy, media savvy. They have traveled the world, they have negotiated with huge powers,” she told Politico in August 2021, noting that they now have a better understanding of how to pander to the West.
But by December 2022, the Taliban resumed its public executions.
In September, the group also raided the offices of a Swiss nonprofit group based in Afghanistan, detaining 18 workers — including one American — for allegedly preaching Christianity.