Taliban makes advances in Afghanistan, claiming control of another capital

The Taliban has seized a sixth provincial capital following a weekend blitz across Afghanistan's north that has seen urban centres fall in quick succession and the government struggle to keep the militants at bay.

Insurgents entered Aibak without a fight after community elders pleaded with officials to spare the city from more violence following weeks of clashes on the outskirts, said Sefatullah Samangani, deputy governor of Samangan province on Monday.

"The governor accepted and withdrew all the forces from the city," Samangani added, saying the Taliban were now in "full control".

A Taliban spokesman confirmed the city had been taken.

The Ministry of Defence on Monday said hundreds of insurgent fighters had been killed or injured in the last 24 hours, with clashes reported in Kandahar and Helmand provinces – traditional Taliban strongholds.

Interior Ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanekzai said the Taliban had suffered "heavy losses", and the security situation was improving.

"Afghan security forces are patrolling the cities," he said.

The militant group has ramped up its campaign across much of the country in recent weeks, taking key border crossings and turning their guns on provincial capitals after gaining control of large swaths of the mostly rural countryside. 

The city of Sar-e-Pul joins at least four other provincial capitals now under Taliban control: Zaranj, the capital of western Nimroz province, the city of Shibirghan, the capital of northern Zawzjan province, and Taloqan, the capital of another northern province with the same name, are confirmed to be under full Taliban control. 

The Taliban also claimed the key city of Kunduz on Sunday, the largest city in the country's northeast.

The Taliban's offensive has gathered momentum in recent days, as US and NATO troops finalise their pullout from Afghanistan, 20 years after their invasion in the wake of 9/11.

The United Nations (UN) has condemned the Taliban's decision to take the fighting to highly populated areas and warned that a military victory and takeover by the Taliban would not be recognised by the international community.

Sar-e Pul

Sar-e-Pul, a city of just over 50,000 and capital of the homonymous province in the north of the country, was the latest to fall as government forces have now completely withdrawn from the province, according to Mohammad Noor Rahmani, a provincial council member.

According to reports, the Taliban overran the provincial capital after over a week of resistance by the Afghan security forces. 

Several pro-government local militia commanders also surrendered to the Taliban without a fight, allowing the insurgents to gain control of the entire province, Rahmani added.

Rahmani said no reinforcements had been sent to the overstretched Afghan forces. A video circulating on social media on Monday shows Taliban fighters standing in front of the Sar-e-Pul governor’s office and congratulating each other for the victory.

Kunduz

On Sunday, the Taliban announced the capture of Kunduz, the capital of the northern Kunduz province and the first major city to fall to the group. The insurgents planted their flag in the city's main square, where it was seen flying atop a traffic police booth. The takeover of several key buildings was confirmed by several journalists in Kunduz.

Kunduz’s capture is a significant blow for the Afghan government. It is one of the country’s larger cities with a population of more than 340,000, and was a key area defended against Taliban takeover by Western troops over the years. The city had previously fallen to the group in 2015 and 2016.

"The capture of Kunduz is quite significant because it will free up a large number of Taliban forces who might then be mobilised in other parts of the north," Ibraheem Thurial, a consultant for International Crisis Group, told the AFP news agency.

Lashkar Gah

The insurgents have also taken most of Lashkar Gah, the capital of southern Helmand province, where they took nine of the 10 police districts in the city last week. Heavy fighting there continues, as do US and Afghan government air strikes, one of which damaged a health clinic and a high school.

The Defense Ministry confirmed air strikes occurred but said they targeted Taliban positions, killing 54 fighters and wounding 23. Its statement made no mention of a clinic or school being bombed. Deputy provincial council chairman Majid Akhund said the facilities had been under Taliban control when they were struck.

On Saturday, Taliban fighters entered the capital of the northern Jawzjan province after sweeping through nine of 10 districts in the province. And the city of Kandahar, the provincial capital of Kandahar, also remains under siege.

As they rolled through provincial capitals, the Taliban issued an English language statement on Sunday saying that residents, government employees, and security officials had nothing to fear from them. The group also warned against further US intervention in Afghanistan.

On Monday, an Afghan radio station manager was killed in Kabul, and a journalist was kidnapped in southern Helmand province, according to local government officials. Officials in Kabul suspected Taliban fighters had carried out the attack, according to the news agency Reuters, but the group has not claimed responsibility.

According to the UN, civilian casualties have been rising sharply since the Taliban ramped up their offensive in early May, while more than 300,000 people have been internally displaced by the recent intensification of the conflict.