Alwaght- Afghan Taliban captured three more provincial capitals, taking the number of provincial capitals the group has seized since Friday to nine.
The Taliban had already gained vast parts of rural Afghanistan since launching a series of offensives in May to coincide with the start of the final withdrawal of foreign forces.
The Taliban has captured a total of nine provincial capitals in the space of Five days as it intensifies attacks across Afghanistan. The group took Zaranj in Nimroz province on Friday, followed by Sheberghan in Jowzjan province the next day. Sunday saw the cities of Sar-e-Pol and Taloqan fall, as well as Kunduz – one of the largest cities in the northeast – while Taliban fighters overran Aibak in Samangan province on Monday. Farah city of the eponymous southwestern province and Pul-e-Khumri of the northern province of Baghlan both fell to the armed group on Tuesday. Faizabad, capital of the Badakhshan region, fall to the group on Wednesday.
Afghan forces have largely folded under the Taliban onslaught, and the group is likely to expand its gains in the coming days as it begins to threaten other provincial centers. Taliban fighters are now besieging the capitals of Helmand and Kandahar in the south. The major city of Mazar-i-Sharif in Balkh province is also under attack, though the Afghan government said it repelled an incursion there on Tuesday.
Perhaps most alarming for Afghan officials – and their American counterparts – are Taliban strikes in Kabul itself, the seat of the central government. Over the last week, the group has set off several car bombs in the city and carried out a number of targeted assassinations, stoking fears it could soon threaten the nation’s capital.
While the Pentagon said the US withdrawal from Afghanistan was more than 90% complete last month, American airstrikes on the Taliban have seen a major uptick, with the New York Times reporting “dozens” in recent weeks. US officials also told the Times that the Pentagon is “likely” to seek authorization for another air campaign in the coming months should insurgents seriously threaten Kabul or Kandahar city, raising questions about whether Washington truly intends to leave the country by Biden’s September 11 deadline.
