As the insurgents consolidated their hold on the country’s northern region and captured three more provincial capitals in a day, the Taliban captured the airport in Kunduz amid the mass surrender of an entire Afghan army corps. Several videos circulated on social media showing dozens of security force members surrendering to the Taliban in Kunduz.
According to two Afghan officers who spoke on the condition of anonymity to The Washington Post, hundreds of Afghan forces surrendered to the Taliban and handed over valuable equipment after holding out for days at a military base on the outskirts of Kunduz. “There was no way to fight back. My unit, with 20 soldiers, three humvees and four pick-up trucks just surrendered,” an army officer in Kunduz, who asked not to be identified, told AFP.
Shah Khan Sherzad, a lawmaker in Kunduz, also claimed that the Taliban took control of the airport and army corps, including all of their equipment. The Taliban has taken control of an army corps for the first time. According to the Tolo News channel, the group also took a military helicopter to Kunduz, but it was out of service.
The Taliban have now taken control of nine provincial capitals, and on Tuesday alone, the group overran three towns. The Taliban also took Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province in the north, near the Tajikistan border, on Tuesday night. “There is a state of chaos and anarchy in Badakhshan, the people are very frightened, government vehicles were looted and transferred to unknown locations, public assets have been looted. Faizabad prison was broken into and some inmates were killed,” Atiqullah Zabih, MP, told Tolo News.
According to the Tolo News channel, which cited sources familiar with the situation, security forces attempting to reach Farkhar district in Takhar were attacked by the Taliban and suffered casualties.
Taliban commanders were seen appearing among the people in Faizabad, Pul-e-Khumri, and Farah city, announcing the imposition of Sharia law. The Taliban has ordered local journalists in Takhar to act in accordance with Sharia law, according to local journalists.
Since the final phase of the US withdrawal began in May, Taliban fighters have taken control of the country and begun pushing into urban areas. As US and Nato forces announced their withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban seized control of the cities of Sar-e-Pol, Sheberghan, Aybak, Kunduz, Taluqan, Pul-e-Khumri, Farah, Zaranj, and Faizabad.
The US will continue to support Afghan forces with airstrikes, but foreign troops will be withdrawn by the end of August.
