Herat falls, Kandahar in crosshairs

Rampaging Taliban insurgents capture the vital city of Herat, taking as many as 11 Afghan provincial capitals in just a week

KABUL: The Taliban captured Afghanistan’s third-largest city and a strategic provincial capital near Kabul on Thursday, further squeezing the country’s embattled government just weeks before the end of the American military mission there.

The seizure of Herat marks the biggest prize yet for the Taliban, who have taken 11 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals as part of a weeklong blitz. Taliban fighters rushed past the Great Mosque in the historic city and seized government buildings. Witnesses described hearing sporadic gunfire at one government building while the rest of the city fell silent under the insurgents’ control.

In neighbouring Kandahar, the Taliban attacked a prison in the city and freed inmates inside on Wednesday night, officials said. On Thursday, Kandahar’s provincial governor spokesman Bahir Ahmadi acknowledged that the Taliban had entered the capital, Kandahar city, but said Afghan forces were fighting to push them back.

Earlier, the capture of Ghazni cut off a crucial highway linking the Afghan capital with the country’s southern provinces, which similarly find themselves under assault as part of an insurgent push some 20 years after US and Nato troops ousted the Taliban government.

While Kabul itself isn’t directly under threat immediately, the losses and the battles elsewhere further tighten the grip of a resurgent Taliban, who are estimated to now hold over two-thirds of the nation and are continuing to pressure government forces in several other provincial capitals. security situation in the wartorn country.