Troop withdrawal: Taliban attack provincial capital in western Afghanistan

Troop withdrawal: Taliban attack provincial capital in western Afghanistan

With the start of the withdrawal of US and NATO troops, the security situation in Afghanistan has worsened. The Taliban are on the advance – and are now facing the conquest of a provincial capital.

The militant Islamist Taliban attacked a provincial capital in Afghanistan for the first time since the international troops began to withdraw.

There are fighting in Kala-e Nau, the capital of the Badghis province in the west of the country, confirmed the provincial police chief of the German Press Agency on Wednesday. Defend the police headquarters and the seat of the provincial governor.

According to a provincial council, the last three government-controlled districts fell to the Islamists on Wednesday night. Soldiers and police had withdrawn from the districts of Mukur, Ab Kamari and Kadis to the provincial capital, Kala-e Nau. A convoy from Mukur was attacked and the security forces suffered great losses. Several government officials and high-ranking police officers then surrendered.

When the US and NATO troops began to withdraw from Afghanistan at the beginning of May, the security situation deteriorated. The Taliban have since conquered a quarter of the districts in the country. In the process, they have killed, wounded, captured or persuaded hundreds of government officials to give up. They have now surrounded at least five provincial capitals.

In the past, attacks on provincial capitals have been pushed back using US air strikes. However, the US left its largest air force base in Bagram last week. It is unclear whether they are currently carrying out air strikes. The Pentagon said on Tuesday that the withdrawal of US troops was 90 percent complete.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Posts