On Sunday, the Taliban took control of the large city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, becoming the third provincial capital to fall to the insurgents within 48 hours. The city of Sar-e Pol in the northwest of Afghanistan also fell to the Taliban, according to an official from the province. The AFP news agency reported that Kunduz had fallen, with the Taliban seizing all major buildings in the city, which has changed hands three times since 2015.
Earlier, Amruddin Wali, a member of the Kunduz provincial council, told AFP that "fierce street-to-street fighting is occurring in various parts of the city," adding that "some security forces withdrew towards the airport." In Sar-e Pol, another provincial capital in the northwest, an official announced the city's fall to the Taliban. Parliamentary deputy Aziza Jalis had earlier announced "the entry of the Taliban into the city center" and claimed "fighting is ongoing in the streets."
The Taliban has seized provincial capitals since Friday. However, the fall of Kunduz in the far north is the most significant since the fighters launched their offensive in May, coinciding with the final phases of foreign troop withdrawals. The American newspaper “Times” reported that U.S. forces bombed Taliban positions in three Afghan cities using B-52 bombers and AC-130 aircraft. The newspaper indicated that the bombers took off from Qatar and struck Taliban sites in Kandahar, Herat, and Helmand.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Defense Ministry announced the death of over 200 Taliban fighters in airstrikes conducted by its forces on the city of Sheberghan and pointed out that Taliban losses were significant due to the U.S. bombing by B-52 bombers. The Taliban seized the city of Sheberghan on Saturday, marking the second provincial capital to fall within 24 hours and since the start of the foreign troop withdrawal from the country in May, while government forces attempt to prevent other cities from falling into the hands of the group.
Qader Maliya, the deputy governor of Jowzjan, told AFP: "Unfortunately, the Taliban has taken control of the city of Sheberghan," adding that government forces and officials "fled toward the airport." Jowzjan is the stronghold of former warlord Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum, who returned to Afghanistan this week after receiving treatment in Turkey. He is known for his changing loyalties and brutality. If his stronghold remains in Taliban hands, it will represent another setback for the government, which has recently called on former warlords and various militias to try to halt the insurgents' advance.
The Taliban has taken control of large areas of rural Afghanistan since launching a series of attacks in May that coincided with the last phases of foreign troop withdrawals. On Friday, the city of Zaranj in Nimroz (southern Afghanistan) also fell to the Taliban "without a fight," according to the deputy governor of the province, making it the first provincial capital the group successfully captured.
