Taliban frees prisoners, threatens to overrun city

KABUL — The Taliban pushed its way into a provincial capital in Afghanistan’s northwest Wednesday, freeing prisoners there and threatening to overrun the city itself.

Details were murky from the city, QalaiNaw, the capital of Badghis province, where fighting was widespread. Videos posted on social media showed some residents welcoming Taliban fighters on motorbikes as they entered.

“The entire city is under control of the Taliban,” said Abdul Rahim Rahin, a member of parliament from Badghis, although his statement could not be immediately confirmed.

Reports from the city in the afternoon said that air strikes by the Afghan air force had helped push back the Taliban fighters.

The assault on QalaiNaw is the latest in the Taliban’s recent offensive, which began in earnest as U.S. and international forces began withdrawing from the country in May. In the span of just over two months, the Taliban have managed to seize at least 150 of Afghanistan’s roughly 400 districts.

Other provincial capitals in the country’s north — long known as an antiTaliban stronghold — are also under siege, with insurgent fighters on the periphery of at least three other important cities.

The Taliban’s recent victories have put the Afghan government in an increasingly difficult position. Hundreds of Afghan troops have surrendered in past months, forfeiting significant amounts of weapons and equipment to the already wellsupplied insurgent group. Last week, more than 1,000 Afghan troops fled into neighboring Tajikistan to escape the Taliban advance.

What U.S. forces remain in Afghanistan have provided some assistance, with fleeting air support that now originates from outside the country.

Caught in the middle of this new chapter of the war are civilians, dozens of whom have been wounded and killed along with tens of thousands who have been displaced.

Taliban attacks on provincial capitals are prohibited under the deal on troop withdrawal that the United States signed with the insurgent group last year. The Taliban seem to have adhered to that during their current offensive, as they have sought to avoid civilian casualties and bad publicity. But in some cases, local Taliban commanders have taken advantage of their gains and attacked some cities.

The battle unfolding in QalaiNaw, a city of about 50,000 people, has increasingly looked like a direct assault, with the remaining government forces pinned down. It is unclear, however, if the Taliban will try and hold the city outright.

On Tuesday, the U.S. military said that the withdrawal process was more than 90% complete, as part of President Biden’s directive to end the American military mission in Afghanistan by Sept. 11.