Taliban take four more provincial capitals in sweep across Afghan south
The Taliban have captured another four provincial capitals in southern Afghanistan as the insurgents press a lightning offensive that is gradually encircling the capital Kabul.
The insurgents now control more than two-thirds of the country, weeks before the US plans to withdraw its last troops.
Attaullah Afghan, the head of the provincial council in Helmand, said the Taliban captured the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah following heavy fighting and raised their white flag over governmental installations.
He said three national army bases outside Lashkar Gah remain under government control.
The loss of Helmand’s provincial capital comes after years of blood spilled by American, British and Nato forces. Hundreds of foreign troops were killed there over the course of the nearly two-decade war.
Atta Jan Haqbayan, the provincial council chief in Zabul province, said the local capital of Qalat fell to the Taliban and officials are in a nearby army camp preparing to leave.
Two legislators from Afghanistan’s southern Uruzgan province said local officials have surrendered the provincial capital, Tirin Kot, to the rapidly advancing Taliban.
Bismillah Jan Mohammad and Qudratullah Rahimi confirmed the surrender on Friday. Mr Mohammad says the governor is en route to the airport to depart for Kabul.
The head of the council in the western province of Ghor later said the city of Feroz Koh had fallen to the insurgents on Friday.
The insurgents have taken half of the country’s 34 provincial capitals in recent days, including its second and third-largest cities, Herat and Kandahar.
While Kabul is not directly under threat yet, the losses and the battles elsewhere tighten the grip of a resurgent Taliban.
With security rapidly deteriorating, the US plans to send in 3,000 troops to help evacuate some personnel from the US embassy in Kabul.
The UK said about 600 troops will be deployed on a short-term basis to support British nationals leaving the country, and Canada is sending special forces to help evacuate its embassy.
Thousands of Afghans have fled their homes amid fears the Taliban will again impose a brutal, repressive government, all but eliminating women’s rights and conducting public executions.
Peace talks in Qatar remain stalled, though diplomats are still meeting, as the US, European and Asian nations warned that any government established by force would be rejected.
“We demand an immediate end to attacks against cities, urge a political settlement, and warn that a government imposed by force will be a pariah state,” said Zalmay Khalilzad, the US envoy to the talks.
The Taliban meanwhile claims to have captured Qala-e Naw, capital of the western Badghis province. There was no official confirmation.
The Taliban are also on the move in Logar province, 50 miles south of Kabul, where they claim to have seized the police headquarters in the provincial capital of Puli-e Alim as well as a nearby prison.
The latest US military intelligence assessment suggests Kabul could come under insurgent pressure within 30 days and that, if current trends hold, the Taliban could gain full control of the country within a few months.
The Afghan government may be forced to pull back to defend the capital and just a few other cities in the coming days if the Taliban maintain momentum.
The onslaught represents a stunning collapse of Afghan forces after the US spent nearly two decades and 830 billion dollars trying to establish a functioning state after toppling the Taliban in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
