More Afghan forces flee to Tajikistan as key districts fall to Taliban

Taliban fighters have take over a dozen districts in Afghanistan's southern and northeastern provinces in the last 24 hours, officials said, as the United States continue to withdraw its last remaining troops from the country by the end of August.

The fall of Panjwai district on Sunday in the southern province of Kandahar comes just two days after US and NATO forces vacated their main Bagram Air Base near Kabul, from where they led operations for two decades against the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies.

Panjwai district governor Hasti Mohammad said Afghan forces and the Taliban clashed during the night, resulting in government forces retreating from the area.

Kandahar provincial council head Sayed Jan Khakriwal confirmed the fall of Panjwai, but accused government forces of "intentionally withdrawing".

Assadullah, a commander of border police in the area, said it was only the police force that was fighting against the insurgents.

"The army and the commandos who have better military equipment are not fighting at all," he said.

Panjwai is the fifth district in Kandahar province to fall to the insurgents in recent weeks.

Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban, who went on to rule Afghanistan with a strict version of Islamic law until being overthrown by a US-led invasion in 2001.

Taliban continues to capture territory across Afghanistan's rural areas since early May when the US military began the pullout.

In northern side of the country, Taliban captured some 11 districts in the latest fighting, according to TOLO News, the highest number of districts that have fallen to the group in a single day. 

The Taliban now control roughly a third of all 421 districts and district centres in Afghanistan.

The gains in northeastern Badakhshan province in recent days have mostly come to the insurgent movement without a fight, said Mohib ul Rahman, a provincial council member.

He blamed Taliban successes on the poor morale of troops who are mostly outnumbered and without resupplies.

Bagram airbase attacked 

Also on Sunday, Bagram district governor Sheren Rufi said that security forces thwarted a Taliban attack on the Bagram airbase. 

A group of 20 Taliban fighters attacked the local police checkpoint near the airbase, with one policeman and one insurgent killed in the exchange of fire, Rufi added.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack from the Taliban. 

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Afghan forces cross over to Tajikistan

Meanwhile, the press office of the border protection units of Tajikistan said that more than 300 Afghan forces retreated from at least a dozen districts in northeastern Badakhshan and Takhar border provinces and fled to Tajikistan.

"Tajik border guards, complying with the principles of humanity and good neighborliness, allowed Afghan soldiers to cross the border and enter Tajikistan territory," the statement said on Saturday. 

Fighting has raged across several provinces of Afghanistan in recent weeks and the Taliban claim to have seized more than 100 out of nearly 400 districts in the country.

Afghanistan's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that 224 Taliban fighters were killed in operations in the last 24 hours.

Afghan officials often dispute Taliban claims but acknowledge that government troops have retreated from some districts. 

It is difficult to independently verify the situation.

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US withdrawal from Afghanistan

Washington agreed to withdraw in a deal negotiated last year under Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump. 

Biden rejected advice from generals to hang on until a political agreement could be reached between the insurgents and Ashraf Ghani's US-backed government.

Biden told Ghani in Washington last week the Afghans must decide their own future. Ghani said his job was now to "manage the consequences" of the US withdrawal.

In exchange for the US departure, the Taliban promised not to allow international terrorists to operate from Afghan soil. 

They committed to negotiate with the Afghan government, but talks in the Qatari capital Doha made little progress.

The US Embassy in Afghanistan this week said Washington was firmly committed to assisting Afghanistan and would provide security assistance of $3 billion in 2022.