Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
09-08-2021
By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies
KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: The Taliban has captured three more provincial capitals, as they take their fight to the cities after seizing much of the countryside in recent months.
The group has seized five provincial capitals in Afghanistan since Friday in a lightning offensive that appears to have overwhelmed government forces.
Kunduz, Sar-e-Pol and Taloqan in the north fell within hours of each other on Sunday, the Taliban and officials in the cities confirmed.
A Taliban statement on Sunday said it has captured the police headquarters, the governor’s compound and the prison in the strategic northeastern city of Kunduz.
Local sources and journalists in Kunduz confirmed to media that Taliban fighters are present in the capital.
“Heavy clashes started yesterday afternoon, all government headquarters are in control of the Taliban, only the army base and the airport is with ANDSF [Afghan security forces] from where they are resisting the Taliban,” Amrudddin Wali, a member of Kunduz provincial assembly, said.
Health officials in Kunduz said 14 bodies, including those of women and children, and more than 30 injured people have been taken to hospital.
“We don’t know what’s going on outside because all our efforts and attention is on the patients coming in,” a doctor told media.
In a statement on Sunday, the Taliban said its fighters have also captured the city of Sar-e-Pol, the main city of the northern province of Sar-e-Pol.
Mohammad Noor Rahmani, a provincial council member of Sar-e-Pol province, told media the group has taken government buildings in the northern provincial capital, driving officials out of the main city to a nearby military base.
Parwina Azimi, a women’s rights activist in Sar-e-Pol, told the AFP news agency by phone that government officials and the remaining forces had retreated to an army barracks about 3km (2 miles) from the city.
The Taliban had the compound “surrounded”, Mohammad Hussein Mujahidzada, a member of the provincial council, told media.
On Sunday evening, the Taliban said on Twitter that it had taken Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province.
Taloqan resident Zabihullah Hamidi told media that he saw security forces and officials leave the city in a convoy of vehicles.
“We retreated from the city this afternoon after the government failed to send help,” a security source told media.
“The city is unfortunately fully in Taliban hands.”
Sunday’s takeovers come after the group seized the provinces of Nimruz and Jawzian in the last two days.
Kunduz had previously fallen to the group in 2015 and 2016.
On Saturday, the Taliban captured Jawzjan capital Sheberghan, the city’s deputy governor said, a day after Zaranj, capital of Nimruz, fell “without a fight”, according to its deputy governor.
The defence ministry said that on Saturday evening, US B-52 bombers struck several Taliban targets in Sheberghan.
As clashes continue in the city of Lashkargah, Helmand’s capital, a health clinic and a school were destroyed in airstrikes and officials said that at least 20 civilians were killed in the fighting in the last 48 hours.
Helmand residents said most of the civilians, including women and children, were killed in rocket attacks and airstrikes.
The clashes were mostly focused on districts 1 and 2 of Lashkargah. These two districts have been cleared of the Taliban, security officials said.
A video from Helmand shows the destroyed building of Shaheed Anwar Khan High School in Lashkargah’s District 2.
Other footage shows a government-owned health clinic in Lashkargah’s District 7 that has been destroyed during the clashes.
Security sources said that the Taliban were hidden in those two areas and were targeted by US airstrikes, probably B-52 bombers.
“It was 10pm at night when the airstrike was carried out. Then the school caught fire,” said Mohammad Nabi, a guard at the school.
Lashkargah has witnessed street-by-street fighting between government forces and the Taliban for the past 10 days.
Health officials said many of the civilians killed were caught in the fighting.
“Most of them were killed or wounded in the crossfire,” said Sher Mohammad Shakir, head of the public health directorate of Helmand.
All departments of Bost Hospital in Lashkargah have been allocated to treat war victims.
“I was wounded in a clash in Bost area,” said Habibullah, a wounded resident.
“I was injured in a rocket attack,” said Faizullah, a resident of Lashkargah.
Local officials said Taliban attacks continue to be launched against the police headquarters and the NDS facility in Lashkargah, but security forces have managed to make some progress in the last few days.
“Our forces are trying to clear Lashkargah of the Taliban,” said Fawad Aman, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense.
