Abdul Wahed, a Taliban commander operating around the area, announced his intention to blow up the Buddhas even before taking the valley. Wahed drilled holes in the Buddhas' heads for explosives. He was prevented from taking further action by the local governor and a direct order of the Supreme Leader, Mohammed Omar, although tires were later burned on the head of the great Buddha. In July 1999, Mullah Mohammed Omar issued a decree in favor of the preservation of the Bamiyan Buddha statues. Because Afghanistan's Buddhist population no longer exists, and the statues were no longer worshipped, he added: "The government considers the Bamiyan statues as an example of a potential major source of income for Afghanistan from international visitors. The Taliban states that Bamiyan shall not be destroyed but protected." In early 2000, local Taliban authorities asked for UN assistance to rebuild drainage ditches around the tops of the alcoves where the Buddhas were set.