Photos from Afghanistan

Door Gunner Petty Officer Richard Symonds of the Royal Navy wears a Santa Claus outfit as he delivers mail and presents to troops around Helmand province on December 25, 2010. (REUTERS/Sgt Rupert Frere RLC/Crown Copyright)

An Afghan woman clad with a burqa listens to speeches during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday, Dec. 10, 2010. Several hundred demonstrators, some holding photographs of the victims of three decades of war, shouted for justice and peace Friday in the Afghan capital, just hours before a suicide car bomber blew himself up in the east killing two civilians. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

An Afghan artist removes rubbish in front of her graffiti in an industrial park in Kabul December 19, 2010. A group of women in burqas rises from the sea to symbolize cleanliness. (REUTERS/Omar Sobhani)

Spanish soldiers carry construction materials and equipment for the establishment of the new Observation post Echo in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan on Dec 16th, 2010. (ISAF Public Affairs)

Four photos that for various reasons I found particularly striking, from a set of 43 impressive images at Boston.com's The Big Picture.