The Taliban’s two provincial capitals, the United States and Britain, are anxious for Biden to order air strikes by B-52 bombers
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U.S. President Biden announced in April 2021 that the U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan will begin to withdraw on May 1 and will withdraw completely before September 11. On July 8, Biden stated that the US military mission in Afghanistan will end on August 31. With the accelerated withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the fighting between the Taliban and the Afghan government forces has become increasingly fierce, and the local security situation has continued to deteriorate.
The Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid announced on social media on the 6th that the organization captured Zaranj, the capital of Nimruz Province, in southwestern Afghanistan that day. This is the first provincial capital city occupied by the Afghan Taliban since the U.S. forces began to withdraw from Afghanistan on May 1. Nimruz Province borders Iran and Pakistan. Afghan Ministry of Defense spokesman Ruhula Ahmedzai said on the 6th that the Afghan government forces will soon launch a counterattack to expel militants from Zaranj.
According to a report from Kabul on August 7 by Deutsche News Agency, Bismila Sahil and Deputy Governor Abdul Kadir told Deutsche News Agency reporters that the Taliban had occupied the province. The capital city of Shibergan.
A Taliban spokesperson said on the 8th that the Taliban captured Kunduz City, the capital of Kunduz Province, that day. An official from Kunduz Province told Xinhua News Agency: “The Taliban began to storm Kunduz City yesterday and tried to control the road to Kunduz Airport, but they did not capture the city.”
On August 7, local time, according to Afghan Dawn News, US President Biden ordered the US military in Afghanistan to use B-52 bombers and ghost gunboats to attack the Taliban positions that are attacking major cities in Afghanistan.
Conquered the second capital city in a row
Shibergan is the second capital city occupied by the Taliban since the U.S. forces began to withdraw from Afghanistan on May 1. The Taliban claimed on the 6th that they had captured Zaranj, the capital of Nimruz Province in the southwest. Sahyl said that the Taliban have already occupied some important buildings, such as the governor’s office, the police headquarters and the city’s central prison. Videos on social media showed that prisoners escaped from prison with the help of the Taliban.
According to Afghan Dawn TV reported on the 7th, after a week of fierce fighting between the Taliban and government forces, they captured the city of Shebergan. After the Taliban captured Shibirgan, 15 media organizations in Juzcan Province have ceased operations.
So far, the Afghan government has not responded to the Taliban’s statement.
Juzjan Province is the hometown of Abdul Rashid Dostum, the former first vice president of Afghanistan. Dostum’s son, Yar Mohamed Dostum, is currently leading a militia in the province to fight the Taliban.
The Afghan Presidential Palace issued a statement on the 7th that Afghan President Ghani held talks with former First Vice President Dostum on the same day to discuss the security situation in the northern provinces of the country.
U.S. and Britain urge citizens to evacuate immediately
According to a report from Agence France-Presse in London, due to the “deteriorating security situation” in Afghanistan, the British Foreign Office required all British citizens in Afghanistan to leave the country “through commercial means” on the 6th local time.
According to the Fox News website of the US, the US Embassy in Kabul on the 7th local time also requested that American citizens in Afghanistan leave the country immediately for the same reason, and asked them not to “rely on US government flights” in the process. In addition, the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan issued a security alert on August 7, urging U.S. citizens to evacuate from Afghanistan as soon as possible by commercial flights. The statement said, “Considering the security situation and reduced staffing, even in Kabul, the ability of the embassy to help American citizens is extremely limited.”
Then there were reports that U.S. President Biden ordered the dispatch of B-52 bombers and AC-130 “Ghost” helicopter gunships to attack the Taliban.
A spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense said on the 7th that the U.S. B-52 bomber attacked Taliban forces in Shibergan that night, killing “over 200” Taliban fighters. A spokesperson for the US Central Command said on the same day that the US military launched several air strikes in recent days to cover the Afghan government forces.
The US government has not yet stated whether it will continue to carry out air strikes in Afghanistan after the complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
Russian Satellite Network reported that Fuad Aman, the spokesperson of the Afghan Ministry of Defense, also posted on social media that the Taliban had become a target of air strikes in Shibirgan, the capital of Juzjan Province, and that they had “heavy losses”.
In addition to the capital cities mentioned above, the Taliban and government forces are currently fighting in the periphery of Kandahar, the capital of Kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan, Rashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province, and Herat, the capital of Western Herat Province. Kandahar and Herat are the second and third most populous cities in Afghanistan.
Despite the sharp deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan, White House Press Secretary Jane Psaki said on the 6th that US President Joseph Biden still believes that the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan is “correct.”
Air Force pilots targeted
Foreign media quoted Afghan government officials as saying that on the 7th local time, a bomb detonated the car of Afghan Air Force pilot Hamidullah Azmi, causing his death and five civilians were injured in the explosion. The commander of the Afghan Air Force Abdul Fatah Eshakzai said that Azmi had been trained to fly a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter made by the United States and served in the Afghan Air Force for nearly four years. He added that a year ago, Azmi and his family moved to Kabul due to security threats.
Afghan government officials stated that at least seven Afghan pilots were killed before the assassination.
U.S. and Afghan officials believe that with the escalation of fighting across Afghanistan, this is a deliberate operation to destroy the Afghan military pilot force trained by the U.S. and NATO-because the Taliban does not have an air force, they want to create a ground-based operation Offensive “level playing field”.
However, the Afghan Air Force played a key role in preventing the Taliban from attacking. Just days before Azmi’s death, the United States’ Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan’s Reconstruction (SIGAR) stated in a report to the US Congress that pilots being targeted is another “worrying thing” for the Afghan Air Force. , Because the Afghan Air Force is suffering from a surge in fighting.
Thomas Rutihi, an expert at the “Afghanistan Analyst Network” think tank based in Kabul, said that the Taliban’s recent captures show that the military strength of this organization must not be underestimated and that it can attack multiple areas at the same time.
Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News reporter Jiang Yijin Comprehensive People’s Daily Online, CCTV Military, Xinhua News Agency, Overseas Network
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