Sun 08 August 2021:
The Taliban have taken control of Taleqan, the capital of the northern Afghan province of Takhar, according to a Taliban spokesman.
Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the Islamist movement captured the capital of Takhar and gained control over all the vital buildings.
The Afghan TOLOnews broadcaster, in turn, reported that key districts of Taleqan were under control of the Taliban, citing sources.
Two Afghan lawmakers from northeastern province of Takhar say its capital, Taleqan, has fallen to the Taliban, ABC news reported.
Earlier in the day, the movement said they fully took over the Kunduz and Sar-e Pol provinces in northern Afghanistan, which the Afghan government denied.
Taliban fighters seized most of the capital of northern Afghanistan’s key Kunduz province on Sunday, and won a monthslong siege of a neighboring provincial capital.
Two provincial council members said the Taliban took control of the governor’s office and police headquarters after a day of firefights, as well as the main prison building, where 500 inmates including Taliban fighters were freed.
If Kunduz, capital of the province of the same name, falls, it would be a significant gain for the Taliban and a test of their ability to take and retain territory in their campaign against the Western-backed government.
It is one of the country’s larger cities with a population of more than 340,000, and was a key area defended against Taliban takeover by Western troops over the years.
After taking over nearly 200 rural districts last month, the Taliban launched assaults on major cities, marching on Herat, Kandahar, Taluqan, and Lashkargah, causing panic and anxiety among millions of civilians.
The standoff between the Afghan government and the Taliban has flared up amid the pullout of international army from the war-torn country. The Taliban have radically ramped up their territorial advances recently, which causes concern by the international community.
Photo: TOLO news
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