The Taliban on Sunday seized the main provincial capital of Kunduz and neighboring provincial capitals of Sar-e-pul and Taliqan as U.S. troops are position to fully withdraw from Afghanistan at the shatter of the month. File Photo by M. Sadiq/EPA-EFE
Aug. 8 (UPI) — The Taliban seized three provincial capitals in Afghanistan on Sunday, including the main strategic commercial hub of Kunduz.
Sayed Jawad Hussaini, deputy police chief of a district in Kunduz, described the scenario as “principal,” asserting all Afghan security forces fled to the airport while the northern capitals of Sar-e-pul and Taliqan additionally fell to Taliban assist watch over, The Contemporary York Times reported.
“We are so tired, the security forces are so tired,” Hussaini acknowledged. “At the identical time we hadn’t received reinforcements and aircraft did now not target the Taliban on time.”
A member of the Kunduz provincial council told CNN that many of the capital had fallen to the Taliban, while the Afghan Defense Ministry acknowledged commandos had taken assist assist watch over of the metropolis’s Unheard of Raziq Sq. and the headquarters of the Kunduz National Radio and TV.
The Taliban in unconfirmed claims acknowledged all aspects of the metropolis had been under their assist watch over and that they’d seized armored vehicles, weapons and protection force equipment.
The Taliban previously captured the metropolis of Kunduz, a critical hub for commerce and avenue traffic reach the border of Tajikistan with a inhabitants of 374,000, for quick intervals in 2015 and 2016 earlier than being pushed assist by Afghan forces.
After taking Kunduz, Taliban forces moved Taliqan, the capital of the Takhar province.
Takhar provincial council member Keramatullah Rustaqi told The Contemporary York Times that security forces left Taliqan to retreat to the neighboring district of Farkhar.
“A mountainous different of the Taliban came from Kunduz and the districts of Takhar to make a decision out Taliqan metropolis, and there could be preventing in four directions,” acknowledged Karimullah Bek, a legitimate-authorities militia commander. “We need reinforcements.”
A member of the Sar-e-pul provincial council additionally told CNN the metropolis had been claimed by the Taliban with factual one final navy immoral containing Afghan security forces surrounded by Taliban opponents.
With the US position to complete its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan on Aug. 31, the Taliban has sought to develop its grip on the gap, capturing Naranj, the capital of Nimruz province, on Friday and assassinating the authorities’s high media decent.
Responding to questions about Taliban advances on Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged President Joe Biden had “sophisticated decisions” to fetch regarding Afghanistan nonetheless changed into once steadfast in his notion to complete the withdrawal.
“The president made certain: After 20 years at battle, it’s time for American troops to reach assist home,” Psaki acknowledged. “And as he acknowledged at the time, the position quo changed into once now not an probability. The Taliban changed into once fascinating to assault U.S. and NATO troops after Would maybe perhaps also objective 1, which changed into once the closing date for our departure.”
