KANDAHAR A CITY ON EDGE

ARGHANDAB DISTRICT, AFGHANISTAN -- MAY 4, 2021: Soldiers pass time at an Afghan National Army base in Arghandab District, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 4, 2021. Arghandab, a district lush with fruit trees and famous for its pomegranates, peaches, mulberries (and marijuana), was recently liberated when government forces managed to claw back some of the gains Taliban fighters have made in the last six months around the districts surrounding Kandahar. The bridges into Arghandab that were destroyed in the fighting were patched together by makeshift HESCO barriers and gravel. An estimated 9,500 families displaced in the battles began to rush back. Residents returned to homes and property disfigured by all the physical impact of the fighting, ranging from gunfire to airstrikes. (MARCUS YAM / LOS ANGELES TIMES)