The Taliban have seized Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-largest city, and a number of other provincial capitals, as the insurgent group accelerates its rapid advance towards the capital Kabul.
Afghan Member of Parliament Gul Ahmad Kamin told us on Friday that Kandahar had been taken. The city, which lies in the south of the country, has been besieged by the Taliban for weeks, and many observers consider its fall as the beginning of the end for the country’s US-backed government.
Later on Friday the militants took charge of a handful of other cities. According to our analysis they now control 17 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals, all of which have been captured in the last week.
The group has made territorial gains in the north of the country, which has traditionally been an anti-Taliban stronghold. And it now controls towns and territories within 100 kilometers (62 miles) of Kabul, including the capital of Logar province, which also fell on Friday.
In a statement Friday, the Taliban said they had taken control of the governor’s office, police headquarters, as well as other key operational centers throughout the city of Kandahar. “Hundreds of weapons, vehicles and ammunition were seized,” the Taliban statement said.
Kamin said he and many others had made their way to a military base close to the city’s international airport and were awaiting a flight out. “Many (government) soldiers surrendered and the rest fled,” Kamin said.
Kamin had earlier told us that Taliban fighters had been able to break through the city’s frontline and were engaging in sporadic confrontation with government forces.
Kandahar, which lies on the junction of three major highways, is of particular strategic importance and was formerly a major hub for US military operations. Its seizure marks the most significant gain yet for the Taliban.
Elsewhere on Friday, the government lost control of the nearby capital of Urozgan province, Tarin Kot.
A local journalist told us that the governor’s office, police headquarters and the central jail were now in the Taliban’s hands. The journalist said the city had fallen to the Taliban without any fighting as tribal elders had decided not to resist their advance.
Afghan news network TOLO quoted the governor of Uruzgan, Mohammad Omar Shizad, as saying that after days of fighting around the city, the elders had urged him to cease fire because of the likely damage of further combat.
The Taliban has not formally claimed to have captured Tarin Kot, and government officials have not confirmed the city has been lost, but videos circulating Friday showed Taliban fighters in the city.
9Naija 