© REUTERS/Danish SiddiquiHumvees that belong to Afghan Special Forces are seen destroyed during heavy clashes with Taliban during the rescue mission of a police officer besieged at a check post, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, July 13, 2021.
The Taliban has claimed complete control over Kandahar following fierce fighting, as officials confirm that
government forces have retreated from the second-largest city.
A spokesperson for the militant group posted a statement on Friday announcing that
Afghanistan's most important provinces - Kandahar, Helmand, Herat and Badghis - had been completely conquered.
The Taliban said it had seized hundreds of weapons and vehicles, as well as large amounts of ammunition, following the successful military operation.
An Afghan member of parliament who spoke with CNN confirmed the city was no longer under the control of the Kabul government.
"Many (government) soldiers surrendered and the rest fled," Gul Ahmad Kamin told the outlet, adding that some Afghan forces were still waiting to be evacuated from the city.
A local government official quoted by Reuters said the Taliban seized the city following "heavy clashes" that lasted late into the night.
Government forces are reportedly still in control of Kandahar's airport, which served as one of the largest US military bases in the country.
The Taliban later released a video, purportedly taken in Kandahar city, showing a group of young men standing on top of a military Humvee as they cheered.
The fall of Kandahar - the birthplace of the Taliban - comes as Western nations scramble to evacuate their diplomatic staff from the country, anticipating a final assault on Kabul.
Special forces troops from Canada, the UK, and the US are reportedly being deployed to help ferry embassy personnel and other citizens out of Afghanistan, according to multiple reports.
It's now believed that unless a political resolution is reached,
the Taliban could enter Kabul in a matter of weeks. The strategic city of Ghazni, located just 150 kilometers (95 miles), fell to the militant group on Thursday.
The US embassy in Kabul has urged all American citizens to leave the country without delay, and even offered to provide loans to those needing cash to pay for plane tickets.
In May, the Taliban launched a massive offensive leading to sweeping territorial gains, following the decision by the US-led coalition to accelerate its withdrawal from the war-torn nation. The US is expected to complete its full military exit from Afghanistan by August 31.
Comment: The UK defence secretary thinks a
civil war is coming to the country. Denmark and Norway shut their
embassies in Kabul, and Germany has cut its staff to a bare minimum. The U.S. embassy has been instructed to
destroy sensitive documents and computers.
US negotiators have asked the Taliban not to attack the embassy, threatening the loss of foreign aid, the Times said. But state-backed NPR said the future of the embassy's many Afghan workers "was not immediately clear." The embassy memo indicated that a small consular staff will remain in Kabul, though it's not clear how that would be feasible if the capital is captured by the Taliban.
Biden has insisted that the fears of a Vietnam-like exit are unfounded. When asked by a reporter last month about possible parallels to the Saigon evacuation, he said, "None whatsoever. Zero. What you had is, you had entire brigades breaking through the gates of our embassy, six, if I'm not mistaken. The Taliban is not the south — the North Vietnamese army. They're not, they're not remotely comparable in terms of capability."
There's going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy of the United States from Afghanistan. It is not at all comparable.
Not everyone is convinced. US Representative Mike Rogers (R-Alabama), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said American lives have been put at risk by Biden's "haphazard" withdrawal from Afghanistan. As a result, he added, the turmoil in Afghanistan is unsurprising, and "the worst is yet to come."
"Weeks ago, President Biden promised the American people that we would not have a Saigon moment in Afghanistan," Rogers said in a statement on Thursday. "Now, we are watching President Biden's Saigon moment unfold before us." The congressman predicted on Friday that the withdrawal deadline will be missed as more troops are sent to the central Asian country.
In addition to the 3,000 troops who have already been dispatched to Afghanistan, 4,500 to 5,000 others are being moved to bases in Kuwait and Qatar, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday. About 3,500 to 4,000 are from the 82nd Airborne Division and will be put on stand-by in Kuwait, "in case we need even more than the 3,000 going to Kabul," Kirby said.
The U.S. previously estimated it could fall to the Taliban in
90 days. According to
some reports, the Taliban could take it over in a matter of days (or hours).
According to ground reports, Kabul is ready for its takeover by Taliban, as the terrorist group continue its offensive against Afghan forces and blitz of cities, sources told CNN-News18.
Police stations are empty, and officers have run away with arms and ammunition for personal safety, the sources said. It is only a matter of time by when the Taliban reach Kabul - either by late night or tomorrow morning, they said, adding that however, the terrorist group will not attack the Presidential Palace.
Sources said the Taliban will honour international commitments and it is possible the Kabul administration will shift to the Kabul airport in the next few hours.
Eighteen of 34 provinces are now in Taliban hands:
- August 6 - Zaranji (Nimruz)
- August 7 - Sheberghan (Jowzjan)
- August 8 - Kunduz (Kunduz)
- August 8 - Sar-e Pol (Sar-e Pol)
- August 8 - Talquan (Takhar)
- August 9 - Aybak (Samangan)
- August 10 - Farah (Farah)
- August 10 - Pul-i Khumri (Baghlan)
- August 11 - Faizabad (Badakhshan)
- August 12 - Ghazni (Ghazni)
- August 12 - Kandahar (Kandahar)
- August 12 - Herat (Herat)
- August 12 - Qala-e-Naw (Badghis)
- August 13 - Lashkar Gah (Helmand)
- August 13 - Tirin kot (Uruzgan)
- August 13 - Chaghcharan (Ghor)
- August 13 - Pul-e Alim (Logar)
- August 13 - Qalat (Zabul)
Taliban patrolling the skies of Kunduz in an Mi-35 captured from the Afghan military Discussion [Link] R.C.