Kabul rejects Taliban claim of capturing southern border crossing
Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry on Wednesday said Taliban’s attack on southern border crossing of Spin Boldak had been repelled and government forces had control of the area.
Taliban, earlier in the day, had said they captured the strategic border crossing along the frontier with Pakistan, continuing sweeping gains made since foreign forces stepped up their withdrawal from Afghanistan, AFP reported.
“The terrorist Taliban had some movements near the border area... The security forces have repelled the attack,” Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian told AFP.
The particular border crossing is arguably one of the most strategically valuable for the Taliban.
The situation on the ground could not immediately be verified, but social media was abuzz with pictures of Taliban militants looking relaxed in what appeared to be the frontier town.
If confirmed, the taking of Spin Boldak would be the latest in a string of border crossings and dry ports seized by the Taliban in recent weeks, with the group looking to choke off much-needed revenue from the government in Kabul while also filling their own coffers.
The incident follows days of heavy fighting across Kandahar Province, where the government was forced to deploy commando fighters to prevent the fall of the provincial capital even as the militant group inched closer to taking the frontier crossing.
With the United States just weeks away from wrapping up its final withdrawal from Afghanistan, Taliban have swept through much of the country, and the government now holds little more than a constellation of provincial capitals that must largely be resupplied by air.