KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) --
Upset by how long it took to destroy two towering statues of Buddha in Afghanistan, the Taliban's reclusive leader on Friday ordered a sacrifice of 100 cows to atone for the delay.
In a broadcast on the Taliban's official Radio Shariat, Mullah Mohammed Omar was quoted as saying the cows would be killed and the meat distributed to the country's poor and hungry on Monday.
The two giant statues of Buddha, hewn from a cliff face in central Bamiyan in the third and fifth centuries, were demolished last week -- almost two weeks after Omar ordered all statues in Afghanistan destroyed, saying they were idolatrous.
The destruction outraged cultural officials in other countries, who sent representatives to ask that the statues be spared.
There were reports that Taliban soldiers tried to destroy the mammoth statues with anti-aircraft weapons, cannons and rockets before eventually stuffing explosives into large holes bored into the rock.
The larger of the two Buddhas, at nearly 170 feet, was believed to be the world's tallest standing Buddha. Local residents believed the smaller statue, almost 120 feet high, showed a female Buddha.
The Taliban have refused to allow anyone into the area, which is also a battle zone between the militia and their northern opponents led by ousted President Burhanuddin Rabbani.
The Taliban have ruled most of Afghanistan since 1996, when they took control of the Afghan capital of Kabul.
They follow a harsh brand of Islamic law that has been disputed by other Islamic clerics. The Taliban say it is a mix of tribal tradition and a strict interpretation of the Muslim holy book, the Quran.
Also on Friday, Radio Shariat reminded the faithful that the traditional New Year, which is March 21, would not be celebrated, calling it a pagan ritual. It was banned several years ago.
The New Year celebration was largely a tradition of Afghanistan's minority Shiite Muslims. It is widely celebrated in neighboring Iran, where Shiite Muslims are a majority.
In previous years, the Taliban have patrolled outside Shiite Muslim graveyards to keep people from performing a New Year tradition, placing food on relatives' graves.
