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The Taliban conquered Herat, one of Afghanistan’s largest cities, on Thursday and is currently fighting to seize Kandahar, the second largest city in Afghanistan, according to local military commanders and aides to other officials. There is.
“Unfortunately, the Taliban managed to get in. [Herat] Abdul Razak Ahmadhi, an aide to Ismail Khan, a former military commander who tried to organize the defense of Herat, told The Wall Street Journal. “Police headquarters were captured by the Taliban because all police left before the arrival of the Taliban militants.”
Taliban’s main spokesperson I wrote in the tweet Herat was captured by a group designated as a terrorist organization by the State Department in the 1990s. video What surfaced online showed that the white Taliban flag was flying over the office.
“In the western part of the country, the large and strategic state of Herat was conquered,” Taliban spokesman Zabiura Mujahid wrote on a social media site. “Some time ago, the state buildings of the state were completely [Taliban]”He added. [building] And other facilities. “
Government soldiers said they “participated in the Taliban with their weapons” and that “the surrender of soldiers is still ongoing.”
Fierce fighting has been reported in the second largest city, Kandahar. Local officials told Reuters that the group was ready to catch it.
During that time, most of the city was under the control of the group, but the fighting was still ongoing, the Taliban commander told the news agency.
Earlier Thursday, the Taliban occupied Ghazni, located on the road from Kandahar to Kabul, about 93 miles southwest of the capital.
An employee of the city’s governor’s office said the governor of Ghazni had handed over the office to the senior commander of the Taliban.
“He gave flowers to the Taliban commander and congratulated him,” the employee told The Wall Street Journal.
The Afghan Ministry of Interior later confirmed that Governor Daud Ragmani had been arrested when he arrived in the capital of Wardak.
The United Nations said last month that more than 1,000 civilians were killed. On Wednesday, the Taliban denied targeting or killing civilians and called for an investigation.
Beginning in the mid-1990s and ending when the United States invaded in 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan and used a hard-line brand of Shari’a law. The group has long been accused of human rights abuses and has housed or cooperated with other terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda and the Haqqani network.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Jack phillips
Senior reporter
Jack Phillips is a New York-based reporter for The Epoch Times.
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