Taliban capture Kunduz, first major Afghan city to fall into US troop withdrawal void

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Kunduz is the third of four provincial capitals the Taliban have captured in recent days, a string of victories that comes as foreign forces, led by the United States, complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan. With a population of 375,000, Kunduz was a major military capture.

Taliban forces mainly invaded the provincial capital of Sar-e-Pul, also in the north of the country on Sunday, marking another loss for the government amid a series of unprecedented advances by the insurgency in its war. 20 years old.

A member of the Sar-e-pul provincial council told CNN that the town fell to the Taliban and that a military base containing Afghan security forces was surrounded by Taliban fighters.

The Taliban said in a statement that they had taken the city. CNN has not been able to independently verify the group’s claims.

In Kunduz, the Afghan Defense Ministry said commandos had regained control of General Raziq’s square in the town and the headquarters of Kunduz National Radio and Television as fighting in the province continues.

Earlier today, a member of the Kunduz provincial council confirmed to CNN that most of the provincial capital fell to the Taliban.

The Taliban said all parts of the city were under their control, adding that they also seized armored vehicles, weapons and military equipment. CNN could not independently confirm the Taliban’s claims.

Heavy fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security forces in the city on Saturday killed at least 11 civilians and injured 40, according to Kunduz health director Dr Ehsanullah Fazli.

Provincial council member Gholam Rabani Rabani told CNN both sides suffered losses in fighting on the outskirts of town on Saturday, and the total death toll was still unclear.

The Taliban briefly captured Kunduz in 2015 and again in 2016, before being driven out by Afghan security forces.

Descent into violence

The town of Zaranj, near the Iranian border, on Friday became the first provincial capital to fall under Taliban control. The next day, insurgents seized Sheberghan, the provincial capital of Jawzjan, near the Turkmen border.

The country’s rapid descent into violence following the withdrawal of US and government-backed NATO troops has shocked many. There are fears that even the national capital, Kabul, may fall.

The US Embassy in Kabul on Sunday criticized the Taliban offensive against Afghan cities, saying its actions to “forcefully impose its government are unacceptable and contradict its claim to support a negotiated settlement in the peace process. Doha. rights of civilians and will worsen the humanitarian crisis in that country. “

Critical assassinations of the Taliban have occurred alongside the fighting. Dozens of social activists, journalists, bureaucrats, judges and public figures fighting to maintain a liberal Islamic administration have been targeted and killed by Taliban fighters in an attempt to silence dissenting voices in this torn country. war, Reuters reported.

In Kabul, Taliban assailants killed Dawa Khan Menapal, director of the Afghan government’s information and media center, on Friday. On Tuesday, the district governor of Sayed Abad in Maidan Wardak, Amir Mohammad Malikzai, was also killed by Taliban fighters in Kabul, government officials told CNN.

On Saturday, the US Embassy in Kabul urged US citizens to leave the country “immediately using available commercial flight options.”

“Given the security conditions and reduced staffing levels, the embassy’s ability to assist US citizens in Afghanistan is extremely limited, even inside Kabul,” the embassy said in a statement.

Britain’s Foreign Office updated its advice on Friday, telling its nationals to leave Afghanistan through commercial means.

CNN’s Hannah Ritchie, Clarissa Ward, Brent Swails and Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.

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