They marched cockily from war-torn Afghanistan over the border into Pakistan yesterday afternoon, defiantly shouting their anti-American slogans.
We had just arrived at the southern Pakistani border crossing at Chaman expecting to see arriving refugees, and not a fired up Taliban group.
At 2.20 p.m., amid streams of fleeing displaced families, we saw 200 or so turban-clad men approaching from Afghanistan, some carrying the black and white flag of the fundamentalist Islamic religious group, JUI. The group walked quickly towards the border and crossed over into Pakistan. We asked why they were marching, if they were defecting. One of their leaders turned to us and asked to see our passes allowing us to visit the Chaman crossing. He said we shouldn't be there.
They marched on shouting that we were American spies. "You are spies and slaves of America. Where are your documents?"
"If Americans were men they would send their ground troops in. We will fight them on our soil", they said. "America is saying they will defeat us in four days. It will take them four years".
The small groups of journalists who had travelled to the border together in one jeep included The Irish Times, ITN and Southam newspapers from Canada. We all happened to be female, apart from the ITN cameraman, our driver and armed security guard.
"Get them away from here. They are women," one Taliban chanted. About 200 yards further into Pakistan, border police carrying big sticks started to beat back the Taliban group. Scuffles broke out with police lashing out with their batons.
Suddenly a dust storm blew up. Then the Taliban turned their venom on us, and started to hurl stones. The Canadian journalist was hit and our armed guard advised us to get into the jeep.
As we drove away a rock was hurled into the back of our vehicle; smashing a window and spraying glass everywhere. The scuffles were so out of place amid the trail of human misery crossing Chaman to the safety of Pakistan yesterday.
About two miles from Chaman, the UNHCR opened its first emergency refugee camp in Pakistan yesterday morning to cope with the fall out from the conflict in Afghanistan.
The decision to open the camp was made on Tuesday night after Pakistan agreed to the establishment of the facility only for the weak and vulnerable.
The Taliban claim they have also opened a camp on the Afghanistan side of the border for refugees.
By 1 p.m., approximately 30 families, or 150 refugees, had arrived to their new temporary homes, tents erected on this flat, and barren, dusty site.