On Sunday, 8th August 2021, the Taliban managed to take over three provincial capitals within Afghanistan; Kunduz, Sar-e-Pol, and Taloqan within a few hours of each other. Since Friday, the Taliban has managed to gain control over five provincial capitals in total, their hostility managing to overpower the governmental and defensive forces. Over the course of recent months, the Taliban has effectively been seizing the countryside of Afghanistan and now seems to be moving to take control over the cities.
On Sunday, the Taliban released a statement stating that they had successfully captured the police headquarters, the governor’s head office, and the jail within Kunduz. Kunduz had previously been under Taliban control in 2015 and 2016.
Amrudddin Wali, a member of Kunduz provincial assembly said that heavy clashes started yesterday afternoon, all government headquarters are in control of the Taliban, only the army base and the airport is with ANDSF [Afghan security forces] from where they are resisting the Taliban.
Reports by health officials from within the overtaken city of Kunduz state that 14 bodies have been found, including those of women and children, and more than 30 wounded individuals were taken to the hospital.
Issuing another statement, later on, the Taliban announced that they had managed to overtake the city of Sar-e-Pol, the northern province’s main city.
According to AFP News Agency, Parwina Azimi, a women’s rights activist residing within Sar-e-Pol, informed them via phone call that government officials and remaining military forces had both withdrawn to an army barracks approximately 3 km (2 miles) away from the city.
On Sunday evening, the Taliban announced they had conquered Taloqan as well which was the capital of Takhar province. According to a resident of Taloqan, Zabihullah Hamidi, told AFP, that the city is unfortunately fully in Taliban hands.
Prior to these takeovers on Sunday, the Taliban had detained the provinces of Jawzjan and Nimruz, which had apparently fallen “without a fight”, according to its deputy governor.
ANDSF (Afghan National Defense and Security Forces) broadcasted a video of an Afghan commando starting that the ANDSF has been carrying out operations in the province of Kunduz over the last 24 hours and that the Taliban had suffered heavy casualties in them.
The commando told the people of Kunduz that you should be certain that the Afghan forces are with you.
The Taliban has been taking over immense areas of rural Afghanistan ever since it launched its series of offensives in May. Intensive fighting has been ongoing in the capital districts of the southern Kandahar and Helmand provinces, which the Taliban has been trying to conquer for several weeks now.
