Taliban hard-liners are turning back the clock in Afghanistan with a flurry of repressive edicts over the past days that hark back to their harsh rule.
The Taliban hanged a dead body from a crane parked in a city square in Afghanistan on Saturday in a gruesome display that signaled the hard-line movement’s return to some of its brutal tactics of the past.
KABUL, August 13: Taliban militants on Friday claimed to have taken control over key southern Afghan cities of Lashkar Gah and Kandahar, after weeks of heavy clashes between the Taliban and government forces.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on his social media account that they overran government offices, including provincial police headquarters, in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province, on Thursday night. Helmand has been regarded as a Taliban stronghold during the past two decades, but Afghan soldiers were holding control over Lashkar Gah and many of the suburban districts.
He also claimed that the militants seized all parts of Kandahar city, capital of neighboring Kandahar province. Footages went viral on social media showed that Taliban fighters were patrolling in the city early Friday.
On Thursday night, Taliban declared that they captured Herat and Qala-e-Naw cities in western part of the country while unconfirmed reports said western city of Firoz Koah also has fallen to the Taliban.
The Afghan government has not confirmed the claim by the Taliban so far.
Fighting has intensified since May in Afghanistan and Taliban militants have recently been mounting pressure on major cities.
KABUL [Afghanistan], August 9: The Afghan government forces have eliminated over 570 terrorists of the Taliban (a terrorist group, banned in Russia) in the past 24 hours, the defense ministry said on Monday.
"579 #Taliban terrorists were killed and 161 others were wounded as a result of #ANDSF operations in Nangarhar, Khost, Logar, Paktia, Kandahar, Herat, Farah, Jowzjan, Samangan, Helmand, Takhar, Kunduz & Panjshir provinces during the last 24 hours," the Afghan ministry wrote on Twitter. The hostilities between the Afghan government and the Taliban have intensified as foreign troops began withdrawing from the country. The Taliban have since captured large rural territories and launched an offensive on cities. According to the UN assistance mission in the country, the number of Afghans killed or injured in the first half of the year has hit a record 5,183, with a particularly sharp rise recorded in May.
SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, June 3: A total of 18 Taliban militants including their commander Qari Mubin have been confirmed dead as fighting planes struck Taliban hideouts in Aqcha district of the northern Jawzjan province on Wednesday, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai said Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off, the fighting planes targeted the Taliban hideouts in Aqcha district on Wednesday afternoon, killing Qari Mubin along with 17 of his armed men and injuring seven others, the official said.
The Taliban outfit that has intensified activities since the formal start of the U.S.-led forces' withdrawal from Afghanistan on May 1 has yet to make a comment. Fierce fighting has been continuing between security forces and Taliban militants in Aqcha district over the past week.
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