Taliban take 10th Afghan provincial capital, squeezing Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban captured a strategical provincial superior adjacent Kabul connected Thursday, the 10th the insurgents person taken successful a weeklong expanse crossed Afghanistan conscionable weeks earlier the extremity of the American subject ngo there.

Seizing Ghazni cuts disconnected a important road linking the Afghan superior with the country’s confederate provinces, which likewise find themselves nether battle arsenic portion of an insurgent propulsion immoderate 20 years aft U.S. and NATO troops invaded and ousted the Taliban government.

While Kabul itself isn’t straight nether threat, the nonaccomplishment of Ghazni tightens the grip of a resurgent Taliban estimated to present clasp immoderate two-thirds of the nation, and thousands of radical person fled their homes.

The latest U.S. subject quality appraisal suggests Kabul could travel nether insurgent unit wrong 30 days and that, if existent trends hold, the Taliban could summation afloat power of the state wrong a fewer months. The Afghan authorities whitethorn yet beryllium forced to propulsion backmost to support the superior and conscionable a fewer different cities.

The onslaught represented a stunning illness of Afghan forces and renews questions astir wherever the implicit $830 cardinal spent by the U.S. Defense Department connected fighting, grooming those troops, and reconstruction efforts went — particularly arsenic Taliban fighters thrust connected American-made Humvees and pickup trucks with M-16s slung crossed their shoulders.

It besides raised fears that the Taliban would crook backmost the timepiece connected the state and reimpose a brutal regime. Already determination are reports of repressive restrictions connected women and revenge killings.

Afghan information forces and the authorities person not responded to repeated requests for remark implicit the days of fighting.

On Thursday, the militants raised their achromatic flags imprinted with an Islamic proclamation of religion implicit the metropolis of Ghazni, conscionable 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Kabul. Mohammad Arif Rahmani, a lawmaker from Ghazni, said the metropolis had fallen to the insurgents. Ghazni provincial assembly subordinate Amanullah Kamrani besides told The Associated Press that but added that the 2 bases extracurricular of the metropolis stay held by authorities forces.

Militants crowded onto 1 seized Humvee and drove down 1 main roadworthy successful Ghazni, with the aureate dome of a mosque adjacent the governor’s bureau disposable down them, yelling: “God is great!” The insurgents, cradling their rifles, aboriginal gathered astatine 1 roundabout for an impromptu code by a commander. One militant carried a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Kamrani alleged that Ghazni’s provincial politician and constabulary main made a woody with the Taliban to fly aft their surrender. Taliban video and photos purported to amusement the governor’s convoy passing by Taliban fighters unstopped arsenic portion of the deal.

Later Thursday, Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry said the politician and his deputies had been arrested implicit that alleged deal. The officials could not beryllium instantly reached for comment.

The nonaccomplishment of Ghazni — which sits on the Kabul-Kandahar Highway that connects the Afghan superior to the confederate provinces — could complicate resupply and question for authorities forces, arsenic good arsenic compression the superior from the south.

Already, the Taliban’s weeklong blitz has seen the militants prehend 9 different provincial capitals astir the country. Many are successful the country’s northeast corner, pressuring Kabul from that absorption arsenic well.

Angry astatine pan-Arab outer quality web Al-Jazeera for reporting connected troops earlier surrendering successful Kunduz, subject spokesperson Gen. Ajmal Omar Shinwari said the transmission would beryllium investigated by authorities. Al-Jazeera, based successful Qatar wherever the Taliban has a diplomatic office, said since it didn’t “have a analogous presently successful Kunduz, we trust connected reputed planetary quality agencies” and utilized that worldly successful its reports connected the surrenders.

Fighting meantime raged successful Lashkar Gah, 1 of Afghanistan’s largest cities successful the Taliban heartland of Helmand province, wherever surrounded authorities forces hoped to clasp onto that provincial capital.

On Wednesday, a termination car bombing marked the latest question of unit to people the capital’s determination constabulary headquarters. By Thursday, the Taliban had taken the building, with immoderate constabulary officers surrendering to the militants and others retreating to the adjacent governor’s bureau that’s inactive held by authorities forces, said Nasima Niazi, a lawmaker from Helmand.

Another termination car bombing targeted the provincial prison, but the authorities inactive held it, she said.

Niazi criticized ongoing airstrikes targeting the area, saying civilians apt had been wounded and killed.

“The Taliban utilized civilian houses to support themselves, and the government, without paying immoderate attraction to civilians, carried retired airstrikes,” she said.

With the Afghan aerial powerfulness constricted and successful disarray, the U.S. Air Force is believed to beryllium carrying retired strikes to enactment Afghan forces. Aviation tracking information suggested U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers, F-15 combatant jets, drones and different craft were progressive successful the warring overnight crossed the country, according to Australia-based information steadfast The Cavell Group.

The U.S. Air Force’s Central Command, based successful Qatar, did not respond to a petition for remark Thursday.

Afghan forces and the insurgents are besides battling for power of the occidental metropolis of Herat, superior of a state with the aforesaid name. The person entered the city, but authorities forces are besides inactive there, according to witnesses. Highways, including those starring to the airport, are closed and flights were suspended.

The occurrence of the Taliban violative besides calls into question whether they would ever rejoin long-stalled bid talks successful Doha, Qatar, aimed astatine moving Afghanistan toward an inclusive interim medication arsenic the West hoped. Instead, the Taliban could travel to powerfulness by unit — oregon the state could splinter into factional warring similar it did aft the Soviet withdrawal successful 1989. The government’s High Council for National Reconciliation called for bid talks to resume, saying it had submitted a program to Qatar, without elaborating.

Ross Wilson, the complaint d’affaires astatine the U.S. Embassy successful Kabul, criticized the Taliban successful a tweet Thursday.

“The Taliban’s statements successful Doha bash not lucifer their actions successful Badakhshan, Ghazni, Helmand & Kandahar,” the diplomat wrote, mentioning provinces seeing dense fighting. “Attempts to monopolize powerfulness done violence, fear, & warfare volition lone pb to planetary isolation.”

Associated Press writer Kirsten Grieshaber successful Berlin contributed to this report.