Taliban press advance after capturing 2 major Afghan cities

KABUL – Afghanistan’s rapidly-advancing Taliban insurgents entered a occidental provincial capital, an authoritative said Friday, hours aft they captured the country’s 2nd and 3rd largest cities successful a lightning beforehand conscionable weeks earlier America is acceptable to extremity its longest war.

The seizure of Kandahar and Herat marks the biggest prizes yet for the Taliban, who person taken 12 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals arsenic portion of a weeklong blitz.

While Kabul itself isn’t straight nether menace yet, the losses and the battles elsewhere further tighten the grip of a resurgent Taliban, who are estimated to present clasp implicit two-thirds of the state and proceed to property their offensive.

With information rapidly deteriorating, the United States planned to nonstop successful 3,000 troops to assistance evacuate immoderate unit from the U.S. Embassy successful Kabul. Separately, Britain said astir 600 troops would beryllium deployed connected a short-term ground to enactment British nationals leaving the country, and Canada is sending peculiar forces to assistance evacuate its embassy.

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Thousands of Afghans person fled their homes amid fears the Taliban volition again enforce a brutal, repressive government, each but eliminating women’s rights and conducting nationalist executions. Peace talks successful Qatar stay stalled, though diplomats are inactive meeting.

Fazel Haq Ehsan, main of the provincial assembly successful the occidental Ghor province, said Friday that the Taliban had entered Feroz Koh, the provincial capital, and that determination was warring wrong the city. The Taliban meantime claimed to person captured Qala-e Naw, superior of the occidental Badghis province. There was nary authoritative confirmation.

The latest U.S. subject quality appraisal suggests Kabul could travel nether insurgent unit wrong 30 days and that, if existent trends hold, the Taliban could summation afloat power of the state wrong a fewer months. The Afghan authorities whitethorn beryllium forced to propulsion backmost to support the superior and conscionable a fewer different cities successful the coming days if the Taliban support momentum.

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The onslaught represents a stunning illness of Afghan forces aft the United States spent astir 2 decades and $830 cardinal trying to found a functioning authorities aft toppling the Taliban successful the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. The advancing Taliban thrust connected American-made Humvees and transportation M-16s pilfered from Afghan forces.

Afghan information forces and the authorities person not responded to repeated questions from journalists, alternatively issuing video communiques that downplay the Taliban advance.

Bill Roggio, a elder chap astatine the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the Afghan service has rotted from wrong owed to corruption and mismanagement, leaving troops successful the tract poorly equipped and with small information to fight. The Taliban, meanwhile, person spent a decennary taking power of ample swaths of the countryside, positioning themselves to rapidly prehend cardinal infrastructure and municipality areas erstwhile President Joe Biden announced the U.S. withdrawal.

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The trouble of moving troops retired to the provinces means the authorities is apt to absorption each its efforts connected defending the capital.

“Whatever forces are near oregon remaining that are successful the Kabul country and the provinces astir them, they’re going to beryllium utilized for the defence of Kabul,” Roggio said. “Unless thing dramatically changes, and I don’t spot however that’s possible, these provinces volition stay nether Taliban control."

In Herat, Taliban fighters rushed past the Great Mosque successful the historical metropolis — a operation that dates to 500 BC and was erstwhile a spoil of Alexander the Great — and seized authorities buildings. Witnesses described proceeding sporadic gunfire astatine 1 authorities gathering portion the remainder of the metropolis fell soundless nether the insurgents’ control.

Herat had been nether militant onslaught for 2 weeks, with 1 question blunted by the accomplishment of warlord Ismail Khan and his forces. But connected Thursday afternoon, Taliban fighters broke done the city’s antiaircraft lines and aboriginal said they were successful control.

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Afghan lawmaker Semin Barekzai besides acknowledged the city’s fall, saying that immoderate officials determination had escaped. Witnesses described seeing Taliban fighters who had been detained astatine Herat’s situation present freely moving connected the streets.

It wasn’t instantly wide what happened to Khan, who earlier had been described arsenic nether onslaught with his forces astatine a authorities building.

In Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, insurgents seized the governor’s bureau and different buildings, witnesses said. The politician and different officials fled the onslaught, catching a formation to Kabul, the witnesses added. They declined to beryllium named publically arsenic the decision has yet to beryllium acknowledged by the government.

The Taliban had earlier attacked a situation successful Kandahar and freed inmates inside, officials said.

Earlier Thursday, the militants raised their achromatic flags imprinted with an Islamic proclamation of religion implicit the metropolis of Ghazni, which sits connected a important north-south road conscionable 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Kabul.

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Ghazni provincial assembly subordinate Amanullah Kamrani alleged that the provincial politician and constabulary main made a woody with the Taliban to fly aft surrendering. Taliban video and photos purported to amusement the governor’s convoy freely passing by insurgents arsenic portion of the deal.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesperson Mirwais Stanekzai aboriginal said the politician and his deputies had been arrested implicit that alleged deal. The officials could not beryllium instantly reached for comment.

Stanekzai besides acknowledged successful a video connection that parts of Ghazni had fallen, though helium insisted authorities information forces “do exist” successful the city.

Already, the Taliban’s weeklong blitz has seen the militants prehend 9 different provincial capitals astir the country.

In confederate Afghanistan, the Taliban’s heartland, dense warring continued successful Lashkar Gah, wherever surrounded authorities forces hoped to clasp onto the superior of Helmand province.

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Nasima Niazi, a lawmaker from Helmand, criticized ongoing airstrikes targeting the area, saying civilians apt had been wounded and killed.

“The Taliban utilized civilian houses to support themselves, and the government, without paying immoderate attraction to civilians, carried retired airstrikes,” she said.

With the Afghan aerial powerfulness constricted and successful disarray, aviation tracking information suggested U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers, F-15 combatant jets, drones and different craft were progressive successful the warring crossed the country, according to Australia-based information steadfast The Cavell Group.

U.S. Central Command has acknowledged carrying retired respective airstrikes successful caller days, without providing details oregon commenting connected the concerns implicit civilian casualties.

Late Thursday night, an Afghan official, speaking connected information of anonymity to sermon developments, said the Taliban person besides taken overmuch of occidental Badghis state — but not the provincial service corps and the quality department. A Taliban tweet claimed the insurgents captured the spot of the provincial governor, the constabulary office and each different authorities offices.

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Even arsenic diplomats met successful Doha, Qatar connected Thursday, the occurrence of the Taliban violative called into question whether they would ever rejoin long-stalled bid talks with the authorities successful Kabul. Instead, the radical could travel to powerfulness by unit — oregon the state could splinter into factional warring similar it did aft the Soviet withdrawal successful 1989.

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Faiez reported from Istanbul. Associated Press writer Joseph Krauss successful Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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