AFGHAN GOVERNMENT INTENSIFIES AIRSTRIKES IN SOUTH AS TALIBAN GAIN IN NORTH

Thu 05 August 2021:

The Afghan army launched airstrikes on Taliban positions in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, as the group advanced farther in the country’s north.

Airstrikes were carried out across the country, according to a defense ministry statement, including in the southern Helmand province, where the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah is being fiercely contested. Nine of the city’s ten police districts are under Taliban control.

Residents in Lashkar Gah reported severe bombing near the government radio and television station which now under controlled by Taliban. Several wedding halls and the provincial governor’s guesthouse are also located near the radio, television station.

Taliban gain ground

In northern Afghanistan, the Taliban took control of most of the provincial capital of Sar-e-Pul, the head of its council, Mohammad Noor Rahmani said. In recent months, the group has gained control of dozens of districts across several provinces in the north.

In response to the government launching a counterattack in Lashkar Gah, the Taliban Tuesday attempted to assassinate Afghanistan’s acting defense minister. A bomb-and-gun attack on Bismillah Mohammadi, who was unharmed, brought the war to the capital Kabul for the first time in months.

The next day the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, warning of more assaults targeting Afghan government leaders.

The Taliban onslaught seems to have intensified with the start of the final withdrawal of United States and NATO troops in late April.

FILE PHOTO

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