Taliban offensive pushes towards Helmand capital
Taliban fighters swept to the edge of the capital of Afghanistan’s Helmand province before being halted in heavy fighting just days after American troops withdrew from the area.
Thousands of residents fled the fighting and dozens were killed or wounded in clashes on the edges of the city that held Britain’s military and aid headquarters during its Helmand campaign. Officials told The Daily Telegraph that Taliban fighters had penetrated deeper into Lashkar Gah than a similar offensive last September and at one stage on Tuesday local politicians said they feared the city would fall.
The offensive came as Afghans and their international backers anxiously watched to see if Afghan forces would be able to stand alone against the insurgency as US troops prepared to leave within the next four months.
Insurgents broke through government defences in Nawa district, south-west of the capital, and reached the western suburb of Bolan. The Taliban easily overran at least 12 checkpoints, killing eight soldiers and injuring 19 others, according to Attaullah Afghan, president of the provincial council.
Abdul Wali, a Bolan resident, said: “The Taliban took control of our neighbourhood yesterday and marched towards the capital.”
Yesterday, Afghan forces said they had halted the Taliban advance, killed dozens of fighters and were confident they could regain what had been taken. Brigadier General Sami Sadat, commander of the Afghan army’s local 215th Maiwand corps, claimed the Taliban would not advance any further, and that reinforcements had arrived.
Syed Mohammad Ramin, The local hospital, run by the international charity Emergency, said 65 casualties had been admitted since May 1, and 11 had died.
At the weekend, the US handed over its last but one military installation in Helmand, a province that once held dozens of camps and operating bases. At the height of the international campaign, the province had 30,000 Nato troops, including 10,000 British.
The rural districts once patrolled by British troops are now largely under Taliban control. Camp Antonik, formerly part of the sprawling Camp Bastion, was handed to Afghan forces as part of America’s plans for a military withdrawal from the country by September.
America’s top military officer, General Mark Milley, said this week he did not know if the Afghan forces could stand on their own. Many Afghans feared the country would fracture and tip deeper into civil war, as international forces left.