Afghanistan - Taliban Artillery Regimental H.Q. Color Finial, taken Nov. 2001, Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
This Taliban flag finial was recovered from the rubble of what is believed to be the regimental commander's office of the headquarters of the Taliban Army in Jalabad, Afghanistan. It was recovered in November 2001 by independent film maker Jim Burroughs while filming the aftermath of American bombing on the Taliban Military Headquarters in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
The flag for thisfinial is a Taliban Army artillery regimental commander's flag, recognizable by the name of the commander and regiment written below the Arabic inscription "God is Great". The symbols of crossed cannons can be recognized on the center of the banner. This regimental flag was recovered from the rubble of the commander's office. There are stains and caking of blood on the flag. Cords and a finial were recovered with the flag.
Video footage of the missile taking off from U.S. warship that destroyed the military headquarters are in the ZFC files. Actual video of the missile hitting the building and the subsequent explosion are documented in the video. There are additional images of the independent journalist Jim Burroughs who is covering the war finding the flag, staff, cord & tassel & finial in the rubble of the commander's office a week after the missile strike. The finial was attached to a pole that was buried under rubble, requiring Burroughs to remove it from its staff, a small portion of which remains in the ferrule. The flag and digital video were added to the collection in Oct/Nov 2002, the finial was individually catalogued in 2012.
Exhibition History:
First Presidio Exhibit
(ZFC0504)
Afghanistan (Taliban Regime)catalogued on 2012. 170th Regimental Artillery Color
Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - Gallery VI
(ZFC0504)
Afghanistan (Taliban Regime) 170th Regimental Artillery Color
University of California - Santa Cruz
(ZFC0504)
Board of Councilors Meeting, Rare Flags Exhibit
Santa Cruz, CA
7 June 2012
Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0504) in 2002 from James Burroughs.
ZFC Significant Flag
Sources:
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Burroughs, Jim, Blood on the Lens: Blood on the lens: a filmmaker's quest for truth in Afghanistan, Washington, D.C., Potomac Books, 2007.
War Trophy, Wikipedia, 15 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_trophy
James Edward Burrows, Wikipedia, 15 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burrows
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
