I remember seeing it via video phone on CNN.
It seems like, if my memory serves me right, that the Taliban had been saying they would destroy the statues but waited long enough for the media to slip into the country so that CNN could get the exclusive.
I didn't understand why, if Allah decreed it, then why did they (Taliban) announce it and then wait before they did it. It's not like they were waiting for approval from the international community or the UN
So that it would have maximum horrific impact, just like everything they do. I actually remember the dread of anticipation before they did it, and the sense of helplessness once it was done.