ARJamadi-ul-Awwal, 27, 1418 A.H..

KABUL: European Union Commissioner Emma Bonino accused Taleban militia of inflicting a "reign of terror" on Monday after she and her entourage were held for more than three hours for taking pictures of women. Bonino claimed she was threatened with a Kalashnikov rifle and that several of her group were beaten on the back with the weapons.

The commissioner, her 19-strong group of EC officials, aid workers and journalists were all released without charge after spending three hours and 40 minutes in the hot and dusty yard of a central Kabul police station, officials said.

They were arrested at a women's hospital after taking pictures in violation of the strict Islamic code the Taleban has clamped on the two-thirds of the country it controls, the officials said. "This is an example of how people live here -- under a reign of terror" she said before leaving here for Islamabad at the end of a two-day visit aimed at assessing the aid situation in the war-torn capital.

The arrested journalists included a CNN team led by Christiane Amanpour, a French television crew from Canal Plus, one British journalist and two Italian photographers. The head of the Taleban's detection section, Haji Habibullah, said the delegation had filmed and taken photographs of women.

"This is just to convey to them that they cannot break the law," he said. However, Habibullah appeared unaware of the identity of his high-ranking prisoner. Nine vehicles used by the group and equipment taken from the journalists was returned.

Sources within the delegation told AFP on Sunday the commissioner's trip was aimed at raising concerns over the Taleban's strict restrictions on women who have been banned from working and education and forced to wear burqa covering the entire body.

Emma Bonino later returned to Islamabad late on Monday from Kabul but did not speak to journalists present at the Islamabad airport. Flanked by EC officials, she was taken to a waiting car which drove her to her hotel in Islamabad, witnesses said. Members of her delegation also returned with Bonino.