The Taliban quickly gathered popularity among Afghans when it first emerged in 1994. Its slogans of liberating the country from the leadership of warlords and establishing a pure Islamic society carried it all the way to the top in 1996 until the Taliban government was overthrown by the US in 2001. So how much of its presence do we still see today? CGTN's Ma Ke has the details.

At its peak, the Taliban controlled more than 90% of Afghanistan. A year after its emergence in 1994, the Pashtun and Sunni groups took over the capital Kabul, along with its TV and radio stations. It ruled the country for five years, until it decided to attack New York.

After US military retaliation destroyed most of its armed forces, the Taliban went underground and remained off the radar for several years. The militants found strength in 2006 after claiming the southern part of Afghanistan from NATO. This time, instead of winning people over, they began killing them. Today, the Taliban operates in more than 70 percent of Afghanistan. A BBC study shows it is now in full control of 14 districts of the country, and has an active and open physical presence in a further 263. These figures indicate the Taliban's strength is significantly higher than previously estimated.

And there are worrying reports of Taliban militants being equipped with advanced weapons bought from the black market, some US-made. An uplifting development, though, is that the Afghan government is actively engaging in talks with the Taliban leadership since February. And according to US officials stationed in the country, terrorist attacks have dropped by 30% since these talks started. Ma Ke, CGTN.