With the fall of Dawlat Shah, the Taliban now control one of Laghman’s five districts, and contest the other four. The Taliban is laying the groundwork for a potential siege of Kabul, which likely would take place if the Taliban could first secure the south and east.
The security situation in Wardak province and neighboring Logar is dire. A potential battle for control of Kabul will likely begin in Wardak and Logar.
Security in the southeastern Afghan province of Zabul continues to deteriorate as the Taliban presses it offensive there.
Afghan officials confirmed the Taliban took the district after security forces retreated. Paktika is in the sphere of influence of the Haqqani Network, the influential Taliban subgroup that is closely allied with al Qaeda as well as Pakistan’s military and Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate.
The Taliban has overrun another district in northern Afghanistan. The district of Qush Tepa in Jawzjan province – which was previously contested – was taken by the Taliban earlier today after several days of fighting, both Afghan officials and the Taliban confirmed. The governor of Jawzjan province said that the Taliban shut down all roads […]
The Taliban overran the district of Shib Koh in the western province of Farah today after Afghan security forces stationed there fled. Farah remains one of Afghanistan’s most troubled provinces.
The Taliban continues to press its successful attacks on the Afghan security forces even as they withdraw from more remote areas to defend more populous areas.
The Taliban has released yet another video showing their fighters gathering in the open after overrunning a military base without fear of reprisal from NATO or Afghan warplanes.
The Taliban never slowed in launching numerous attacks across the country even as it committed significant resources to the fight in Ghazni.
The Taliban takeover of the Paktika districts of Omna and Gayan occur as US generals attempt to put a positive spin on the Afghan military’s capabilities.
The move by the Taliban directly contradicts the top US and NATO general in Afghanistan’s assertion that the Taliban is “no longer attempting to gain new ground.”
Security in Ghazni province has deteriorated rapidly over the past year. Of Ghazni’s 19 districts, the Taliban control five and contest nine more, according to information compiled by FDD’s Long War Journal. The provincial capital is threatened by the Taliban.
The Taliban overran the district of Tala Wa Barfak in the northern Afghan provinces of Baghlan. Two others have been seized by the Taliban in the past two weeks.
The Taliban overran the district of Kohistan in the remote northeastern province of Badakhshan last evening after laying siege to it for several days.
The district of Khwaja Omari was previously considered to be one of the more secure areas in Ghazni, which is a hotbed for the Taliban and other foreign jihadist groups such as al Qaeda.
Afghan forces suffered 97 percent casualties during the suicide assault. The attack is the latest in the southern province, where the Taliban has stepped up its attacks on Afghan military outposts.
Taliban forces have overrun two district centers in Kandahar and Farah provinces over the past two days. The jihadist group continues to gain ground in Afghanistan despite a change in US strategy that has reduced restrictions on local commanders to launch airstrikes against the group.
The Taliban continues to demonstrate that it can conduct concurrent operations across the country, while Afghan forces largely remain on the defensive.
The Afghan Taliban has again retaken control of the district of Ghormach in Faryab province. The remote district has changed hands twice in less than two years.
The governor of Darzab confirmed that Taliban fighters overran the district just one day after Islamic State fighters attacked the administrative complex.
The Taliban claims it now controls four of Kandahar’s 18 districts, and that others are contested. Shorabak was the location of an al Qaeda camp that was described by a US general in 2015 as “probably the largest training camp-type facility that we have seen in 14 years of war.”
A Taliban spokesman released a video of an interview of fighters from the base. Like the recent ambush in Helmand’s capital, the Taliban fighters clearly are not concerned about either a counterattack or airstrikes.
Taliban forces killed Nawa’s police chief while seizing the district center. The Taliban now controls six of Helmand’s 14 districts and heavily contest another seven.
Khanashin district in Helmand province was a Taliban haven long before the district center fell earlier today. The Taliban now controls 37 districts in Afghanistan and contests another 39.
The jihadist group overran the district center of Darqad in Takhar province, but lost control of Dasht-i-Archi in Kunduz and Ghormach in Faryab.
The district of Bala Buluk fell to the jihadist group after more than a week of fighting. The fate of dozens of policemen who were surrounded for days is unknown.
Wardoj and Baharak are the latest districst to fall to the Taliban since the provincial capital of Kunduz was overrun on Sept. 28. The Taliban has seized control of 10 districts in five provinces.
As the jihadist group mounts offensives in the northern province of Kunduz and the southern province of Helmand, it has also been consolidating its grip on areas in eastern Afghanistan, including within the Haqqani Network stronghold of Paktika.
The district of Kohistanat in once-peaceful Sar-i-Pul is the latest to fall to the Taliban. Kohistanat is a known gathering place for Arab, Uzbek, and Pakistani jihadists.
The Taliban freed more than 140 of its fighters and 200 prisoners in a coordinated suicide assault on a jail in the southeastern Afghan province of Ghazni.