The Taliban claimed it overran the district center and surrounding security outposts in the remote northern district of Khamab in Jawzjan province. The district has gone back and forth between Taliban and government control over the past several years.
The Taliban claim of control was made on Voice of Jihad, its official website:
Al-Emarah News says district of Kham Aab along with its posts have slipped from the government’s control and fallen to the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate.
Today, the Mujahideen combatants took over Khamab district in the northern province of Jowzjan after hours of fighting.
Similarly, Mujahideen chased the enemy out of a large swathe of land, clearing the enemy of 17 huge villages in the mentioned district.
Furthermore, Mujahideen seized from the enemy various kinds of arms ammunition and military equipment.
The Afghan military and police have had difficulty with retaining control of Khamab since late 2014, when it first fell under Taliban control.
Khamab is the second district to fall to the Taliban in the past week. On Aug. 14, the Taliban overran Ghormach in Faryab province.
Over the past month, the Taliban has overrun the districts of Jani Khel in Paktia province, Pusht Koh in Farah, Taiwara in Ghor in central Afghanistan, and Kohistan (or Lolash) in Faryab, and Guzargah in Baghlan. Afghan forces have since retaken Kohistan and Taiwara, however these districts remain contested.
The Taliban continues to demonstrate that it can conduct concurrent operations across the country, while Afghan forces largely remain on the defensive.
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4 Comments
Every time they reconquer a new district, why don’t you publish your interactive map of all the Таlibаn-controlled districts anymore like you used to do 2 years ago? Next time a new district is captured please show us the updated colour-coded map of districts like what you used to have, so we can see visually the progress of the war.
Baz, I agree. I hate that old map. We have been working on getting a new, updated, and cleaner map out. Been cranking away at this for the past week. Should be soon, real soon. Thanks for the constructive feedback.
Jowzjan Provence is over to the northwest of the country, and I cannot locate Khamab on any map. But has anyone described the master plan of the Taliban together with Al Qaeda? Are the two of them really trying to establish some sort of a caliphate in the northern part of Afghanistan and northern Pakistan? There has to be a master plan they are working at.
Follow the opium trail.