Benjamin Hiller is a Berlin-based photographer who recently embedded with German troops in northern Afghanistan for Corbis.

“In January and February 2012 I was ‘attached’ to the German ISAF troops in the north of Afghanistan. My main focus was Nawabad in the district Cahar Darrah. Here the German ISAF troops are involved in a
battle against the Taliban as well as against the immense poverty in the area,” Hiller said.

“Successful in preventing the Taliban returning to Nawabad, the NATO forces rely heavily on the newly established Afghan National Police (ANP) as well as on Ex-Taliban fighters like Asadullah, integrated into the CIPP (Critical Infrastructure Protection Program). But, in addition to the unsure loyalties of these fighters, many citizens see the CIPP as yet another paramilitary force which brings pressure, violence and corruption into the region. And as the Taliban focuses more and more on attacking the Afghan forces like the ANP and CIPP the fear spreads that, after the pullout of the ISAF forces in 2014, civil war is looming again around the corner,” he said.

Afghanistan 2012 – Images by Benjamin Hiller

Check out Benjamin’s work at http://www.benjamin-hiller.com.