AIRLINK 62.58 Increased By ▲ 0.38 (0.61%)
BOP 6.17 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.96%)
CNERGY 4.98 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.2%)
DFML 15.12 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (1.48%)
DGKC 67.75 Decreased By ▼ -1.24 (-1.8%)
FCCL 17.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-0.73%)
FFBL 24.65 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.2%)
FFL 9.18 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.33%)
GGL 9.95 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.51%)
HBL 109.00 Increased By ▲ 0.50 (0.46%)
HUBC 116.75 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (0.21%)
HUMNL 6.70 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
KEL 4.46 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
KOSM 4.68 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.85%)
MLCF 36.84 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.16%)
OGDC 123.75 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (0.36%)
PAEL 22.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.18%)
PIAA 23.89 Increased By ▲ 1.67 (7.52%)
PIBTL 5.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.87%)
PPL 110.52 Decreased By ▼ -0.38 (-0.34%)
PRL 27.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.25%)
PTC 15.25 Increased By ▲ 1.06 (7.47%)
SEARL 53.61 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (0.68%)
SNGP 63.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.25 (-0.39%)
SSGC 11.05 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.45%)
TELE 9.36 Increased By ▲ 0.41 (4.58%)
TPLP 10.80 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (0.65%)
TRG 70.46 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.23%)
UNITY 24.25 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.21%)
WTL 1.36 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 6,718 Increased By 19.8 (0.3%)
BR30 22,676 Increased By 58.1 (0.26%)
KSE100 65,013 Increased By 122.3 (0.19%)
KSE30 21,594 Increased By 57.9 (0.27%)
World

Taliban fighters enter provincial capital, clash with Afghan forces

  • Afghan security forces have thus far held back the Taliban's attempt to take the city with the help of the Afghan air force, but operations were hampered by the presence of civilians in the area
Published July 30, 2021

KABUL: Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters have been locked in heavy clashes for the last two days after the insurgents entered the capital of the southern province of Helmand, officials said on Friday, as civilians rushed to evacuate the city.

With U.S.-led foreign forces nearing a complete withdrawal of troops, the Taliban have made swift territorial gains over the last two months but have not yet captured any provincial capitals.

"Since Thursday morning the Taliban have launched attacks from several directions on Lashkargah city," a government official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity. Lashkargah is the capital of Helmand, a southern province.

Taliban surge poses 'existential crisis': US watchdog

The official added that Afghan security forces have thus far held back the Taliban's attempt to take the city with the help of the Afghan air force, but operations were hampered by the presence of civilians in the area.

"Hundreds of families have left the area and moved to other safer places," Hafiz Ahmad, a resident of one Lashkargah neighbourhood where clashes are ongoing, told Reuters.

He said those unable to move had locked themselves in their homes, and the city wore a deserted look as gun and artillery fire reverberated through neighbourhoods.

A United Nations report this week said civilian casualties had been surging in recent weeks in Afghanistan, with as many killed in May and June as in the previous four months. The report did not cover casualties in July, when fighting has intensified further.

Abdul Majid Akhundzada, a Helmand provincial council member, said the Taliban had captured several areas of Lashkargah, and fighting was intense in an area close to the city's airport.

Afghan Taliban seize border crossing with Pakistan

He expressed fear that the city could soon fall to the Taliban.

The United States' top military commander in the region has said the U.S. air force has increased air strikes to support Afghan forces reeling from Taliban advances - but declined to say whether this would continue after their military mission ends on Aug. 31.

Meanwhile, some 200 Afghans were set to begin new lives in the United States on Friday as an airlift got under way for translators and others who risk Taliban retaliation because they worked for the United States during its 20-year war in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said.

Comments

Comments are closed.