Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces hugged and took selfies with each other in restive eastern Afghanistan yesterday, as an unprecedented ceasefire in the war-torn country held for the second day of Eid.

Carrying assault weapons and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, members of Afghanistan's biggest militant group travelled by car and motorbike through the contested district of Bati Kot in Nangarhar province, waving Afghan and Taliban flags. Afghan forces offered Eid greetings to the Taliban, embracing and posing for photos with the same people they are usually trying to kill — a scene that would have been unthinkable only a few days ago.