Taliban Move Closer to Afghan Capital After Occupying Ghazni

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Taliban Move Closer to Afghan Capital After Occupying Ghazni

The Taliban have taken control of the strategic Afghan city of Ghazni, just 150km from Kabul. With this, they are seen moving closer to the capital. 

The city is the 10th provincial capital the Taliban have occupied in a week, located along the main Kabul-Kandahar highway, and serves as a gateway between the capital and the Taliban stronghold in the south.

“The Taliban have taken control of key areas of the city, the governor’s office, the police headquarters, and the jail,” Nasir Ahmad Faqiri, head of the provincial council, told AFP.

“The provincial capital is largely in Taliban hands,” he added.

The Taliban have also confirmed their occupation of the city, according to a statement released on social media by a spokesman.

The Afghan conflict has escalated dramatically since May when US-led international forces began the final phase of a troop withdrawal later this month after a 20-year occupation.

Ghazni is likely to put more pressure on the country’s air force, which is needed to bolster Afghanistan’s fragmented security forces.

In less than a week, the Taliban have seized 10 provincial capitals and are now looking to occupy the traditional anti-Taliban stronghold of Mazar-e-Sharif, the largest city in the north.

Fighting also continues in the Taliban strongholds of Kandahar in the south and Herat in the west in Lashkar Gah.

On Wednesday night, the Taliban claimed control of a jail in Kandahar, saying it had been “completely conquered after a long siege and that hundreds of prisoners have been released and taken to safety.”

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