Taliban forces advancing to three large cities in southern and western Afghanistan, the BBC reported. Their troops are already on the outskirts of Herat, Lashkar Gah and Kandahar and are fighting fierce battles with government troops. Their offensive against Afghan army positions began with the withdrawal of US forces from the country.
According to various estimates, now the Taliban control about 50% of the territory of the country (they themselves claim to have already taken 80% of Afghanistan), but so far they have not taken any of the big cities.
According to Afghan MP Gul Ahmad Kamin, there is a real one danger of the Taliban capturing Kandahar and they even plan to make it their temporary capital. According to him, there have not been such fierce battles in this city for 20 years.
The Afghan government halts the Taliban offensive with a curfew
The curfew is valid in 31 of the country’s 34 provinces
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The Taliban are attacking from several sides at once, and if they can penetrate inside, the army will not be able to use heavy weapons against them to avoid casualties among the civilian population. In the refugee camps in Kandahar now live around 11 thousand families.
If the city falls, the government will lose control of five or six other provinces in the southwestern part of the country.
The tension escalates in Herat, in northwestern Afghanistan. The Taliban are reported to have infiltrated from the south and are already in the lead battles in at least five places.
The US Air Force is carrying out air strikes against the attackers. Government forces have managed to regain control of the airport.
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US air strikes to help Afghan forces
The Taliban have been hit on the outskirts of Kandahar
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Eyewitnesses say that a lot locals are also taking up arms and fight the Taliban. Mujahideen field commander Ismail Khan, who fought against Soviet troops during the invasion of Afghanistan last century, organized a militia to help defend the city.
In the capital of the province of Helmand – Lashkar Gah, the Taliban have reached 100 meters from the local government building. On Friday, they also approached the institution, but the army managed to repel them.
EU Special Envoy to Afghanistan Thomas Nicklason told the BBC that the conflict would flare up and that the Taliban seek to restore their “Islamic emirate”.
