Taliban seize key district in old bastion of Kandahar

Washington announces it will finish withdrawing its troops from the country by the end of August.

An Afghan National Army at Bagram Air Base after all US and NATO troops left last week. Picture: AFP

The Taliban have captured a key district in their former bastion of Kandahar after fierce night-time fighting with Afghan government forces, the latest area to be seized since US troops began their final withdrawal.

The fall of Panjwai district in the southern province of Kandahar on Sunday comes just a day after Washington announced it would finish withdrawing its troops from the country by the end of August.

Washington’s announcement came after all US and NATO troops left their main Bagram Air Base, from where the coalition forces led operations for two decades against the Taliban and their al-Qa’ida allies.

Over the years, the Taliban and Afghan forces have regularly clashed in and around Panjwai, with the insurgents aiming to seize it given its proximity to Kandahar city, the provincial capital. The province of Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban, who went on to rule Afghanistan with a harsh version of Islamic sharia law until being overthrown by a US-led invasion in 2001.

Panjwai district governor Hasti Mohammad said on Sunday Afghan forces and the Taliban clashed during the night, resulting in government forces retreating from the area.

“The Taliban have captured the district police headquarters and governor’s office building,” he said.

Kandahar provincial council head Sayed Jan Khakriwal confirmed the fall of Panjwai, but accused government forces of “intentionally withdrawing”.

Fighting has raged across several provinces of Afghanistan in recent weeks and the Taliban claim to have seized more than 100 out of nearly 400 districts in the country. Afghan officials dispute the claims but acknowledge that government troops have retreated from some districts.

The Ministry of Defence said late on Saturday that over the previous 24 hours more than 300 Taliban fighters were killed in fighting with government forces. Scores were killed in airstrikes, including a pre-dawn assault on Saturday, in the southern province of Helmand. There have been fears that Afghan forces would struggle without the air support that the US provided.

“In recent days, the Afghan Air Force has intensified its air strikes against the Taliban hideouts and the insurgents have suffered casualties,” said Attaullah Afghan, a member of Helmand provincial council.

The Taliban rejected the government’s claims. Both sides often exaggerate each other’s casualties and their claims are difficult to independently verify.

But since May 1, when the US military began its final withdrawal of about 2500 troops, the two warring sides have clashed fiercely across the rugged countryside as peace talks between them have faltered.

The Pentagon pressed on with its withdrawal to end America’s longest war. On Friday, all US and NATO troops left Bagram, signalling the military involvement for coalition forces was nearing its end.

The exit of foreign troops from Bagram has further fuelled concerns the country might slide into a new civil war, as in the 1990s after the Soviets left.

“I see history repeating. The Americans are doing the same what the Russians did. They are going without ending the war,” said Kabul resident Dawood Hotak.

US President Joe Biden attempted to ease these concerns at the White House late on Friday. He said the US military was keeping an “over the horizon capacity” which could bring firepower to help the government and its forces if needed.

It is expected the Pentagon will probably retain about 600 troops in Afghanistan to guard the vast US diplomatic compound in Kabul.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also said that the exit of foreign troops from Bagram did not mean that the overall withdrawal of foreign forces would be completed within days. Foreign troops would be out of Afghanistan “by the end of August”, she said, closer to the September 11 deadline set by Mr Biden.

AFP