Afghan National Army soldiers prepare to move out following an inspection of troops at the Regional Military Training Center at Tactical Base Gamberi, Afghanistan, on July 30, 2015. JARROD MORRIS/U.S. ARMY
On July 8, Afghan government forces recaptured Qala-e-Naw city, the capital of the northwestern province of Badghis, from the Taliban.
Taliban fighters stormed the city a day earlier following fierce clashes with local security forces. The fighters stormed key government buildings and freed around 600 prisoners from the province central prison.
Footage shows Taliban fighters in parts of Qalay Naw city, the capital of Badghis province. pic.twitter.com/zZgGQv02QV
— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) July 7, 2021
Breaking: #ANDSF surrendered to Taliban in #Badghis pic.twitter.com/IhNtHvCrxh
— Tariq Ghazniwal (@tariqghazniwal) July 8, 2021
Qala-e-Naw is currently in the hands of government forces. However, clashes with Taliban fighters are still ongoing in the city’s outskirts.
“The city is fully [back] under our control and we are conducting operations against the Taliban on the outskirts of the city,” Fawad Aman, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said.
According to the Afghan MoD, 69 Taliban fighters were killed and 23 others were wounded during recent operations in the outskirts of Qala-e-Naw. Loads of weapons and ammunition were also captured from the group.
Afghan Air Force carried a number of air strikes against Taliban in Qalay Naw, Badghis. Here a car bomb was destroyed by MD-530 attack helicopter. Video shared with me. pic.twitter.com/2IohmxmifK
— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) July 7, 2021
The rest of Badghis province remains in the hands of the Taliban. The group’s offensive on Qala-e-Naw city will not likely end soon.
Ongoing fighting reported by residents in Qalay Naw , the capital of Badghis province. Taliban fighters launched a second wave of attacks against a city packed with civilians including women and children. pic.twitter.com/oi8HH5gDVo
— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) July 8, 2021
The US decision to pull its troops out from Afghanistan before September 11 raised the morale of the Taliban. The group stepped up its attacks on government forces throughout the country. Today, the group claims to be holding over 200 districts in 34 provinces.
