Carpets stolen from ancient Afghan mosque

Three large carpets were stolen from an ancient Afghan mosque by thieves who came in the middle of the night and replaced them with cheap imitations.

The carpets were each made in the early 1900s specifically for the centuries-old Khawaja Abu Nasr Parsa mosque in northern Balkh province.

The carpets, described as priceless, had been replaced by newer and poorly made Iranian carpets worth only about US$300 ($429) each.