Taliban launch assault on Afghan provincial capital as US ramps up withdrawal
The Taliban launched a major assault on a provincial capital in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the first since the US military began its final drawdown of troops from the country, as insurgents press on with a blistering offensive.
Fierce fighting erupted in the western city of Qala-i-Naw, the capital of Badghis, with the militants seizing police headquarters and offices of the country's spy agency.
As news of the morning assault spread, social media was flooded with videos of clashes -- with some showing armed Taliban fighters on motorbikes entering the city as onlookers cheered.
Afghanistan's Defence Minister Bismillah Mohammadi said government forces were in a "very sensitive military situation", adding that "the war is raging" with the Taliban.
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Provincial council chief Abdul Aziz Bek said some security officials had surrendered to the Taliban, while council member Zia Gul Habibi said the insurgents had entered the city's police headquarters and the local office of the country's spy agency.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210707-taliban-launch-assault-on-afghan-provincial-capital-as-us-ramps-up-withdrawal
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