Taliban take over sixth Afghan provincial capital

KABUL: Taliban have taken control of the sixth provincial Afghan capital on Monday, a lawmaker said, after ousting Afghan security forces from border towns and trade routes as US-led foreign forces pull out.

They took Aybak, the capital of the northern province of Samangan. "Right now the Taliban are fighting with Afghan forces to capture the police headquarters and compound of the provincial governor," said Ziauddin Zia, a lawmaker in Aybak, reported Geo News. Zia said, "Several parts of the capital have fallen to the Taliban."

The Taliban took three provincial capitals over the weekend — Zaranj, the capital of the southern province of Nimroz, Sar-e-Pul, the capital of the northern province of the same name, and Taloqan, the capital of northeastern Takhar province. They had already taken the northern provincial capital of Kunduz and Lashkar Gah, capital of southwestern Helmand province. Now six provinces are in complete control of the Taliban.

Afghan commandos had launched a counter-attack to try to beat back Taliban fighters who overran Kunduz, with residents fleeing the conflict describing the almost constant sound of gunfire and explosions. A Taliban spokesman warned the United States on Sunday against intervening following US airstrikes to support beleaguered Afghan government forces. The United States has vowed to pull out most troops by the end of the month, ending its longest war.

In Kunduz, many desperate families, some with young children and pregnant women, abandoned their homes, hoping to reach the relative safety of Kabul, 315 kilometres to the south — a drive that would normally take around ten hours.

Ghulam Rasool, an engineer, was trying to hire a bus to get his family to the capital as the sound of gunfire reverberated through the streets of his hometown. "We may just be forced to walk till Kabul, but we are not sure if we could be killed on the way, ground clashes were not just stopping even for 10 minutes," Rasool said. Thousands were trying to enter Kabul, even after the city has witnessed attacks in diplomatic districts.