Taliban capture sixth Afghan provincial capital, Aibak: Deputy governor says

The Taliban militants have captured Aibak, the sixth Afghan provincial capital, the deputy governor of the province says, as the militants press on with their northern offensive following the weekend’s rapid advances.

The militants on Monday stormed Aibak, the capital city of the north-central province of Samangan, without a battle after community elders pleaded with officials to spare the city from further violence following weeks of clashes on its outskirts, said Sefatullah Samangani, the deputy governor of the province.

“The governor accepted and withdrew all the forces from the city,” he noted, adding that the Taliban militants were now in “full control” of Aibak.

Separately, AFP cited an unnamed Taliban spokesman as confirming that the city has been taken by the militant group.

Earlier, Taliban militants had overrun five provincial capitals across the north, sparking fears the central government in Kabul is quickly losing control of the region.

The latest city to fall was Taloqan, the capital of the northern province of Takhar, which was overrun by the marauding militants Sunday afternoon. It became the third major provincial center to fall to the Taliban in one day, according to local reports.

The militants have also captured Zaranj, the capital of Nimroz province, in the southwest.

After seizing Sheberghan to its west, and Kunduz and Taloqan to its east, Taliban militants said earlier on Monday that they were launching an offensive on Mazar-i-Sharif, the largest city in the north that plays a vital role for the government to maintain assert control over the region.

However, residents of the city contested claims by Taliban, saying the group is exaggerating, with clashes confined to surrounding districts.

“The enemy is trying to distort public opinion and create anxiety for the civilian population by their propaganda,” said a statement, quoted by AFP, from the provincial police force in Balkh province, where Mazar-i-Sharif is the capital.

Atta Mohammad Noor, the city’s longtime strongman, vowed to fight against the Taliban to the end, saying there would be “resistance until the last drop of my blood.”

“I prefer dying in dignity than dying in despair,” he tweeted.

Afghan forces engage Taliban in heavy fighting in three northern provinces

Afghan government forces and the Taliban are engaged in fierce fighting in three northern provinces as the militants ramp up their offensives to seize further territory.

The possible loss of Mazar-i-Sharif, a city steeped in history as well as being an economic hub for decades, would signal the collapse of Kabul’s control of the north and likely bring up major questions regarding the future of the central government.

As the Taliban pressed ahead in the north, fighting also escalated in the south, where Afghan government forces have been locked in heavy street-to-street battle with the militants.

For the past recent weeks, Taliban militants have been trying to capture Kandahar and Lashkar Gah, both with Pashtun majorities from where the militants draw their strength.

“We're clearing houses, roads, and buildings that the Taliban occupy,” said General Sami Sadat, commander of the Afghan army's 215 Corps, in an interview with AFP from Lashkar Gah.

The Afghan defense ministry said that hundreds of Taliban militants had been killed or wounded in the last 24 hours.

Northern Afghanistan, home to several militias, has long been regarded as an anti-Taliban stronghold that saw some of the firmest resistance to the group’s rule in the second half of the 1990s.

Fighting between Taliban militants and government forces has significantly soared since May, when the US-led military coalition commenced the final stage of a withdrawal set to be completed before the end of the month.

The Taliban’s speedy military advances have also prompted global concerns among many international human rights organizations that have sounded the alarm about the future of Afghans.

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