Taliban Seize Several Major Afghan Provincial Capitals

ISLAMABAD - The Taliban said Friday their overnight offensives had fully captured five major provincial capitals in Afghanistan, including southern Kandahar, western Herat, northeastern Qahar-e-Naw, southern, Lashkar Gah and strategically important southeastern Ghazni. Taliban confirmed Friday they have arrested Herat’s former governor warlord Ismail Khan along with several of his top aides. 70-year-old Khan and his militiamen had been battling Taliban along with Afghan security forces to unsuccessfully defend Herat. pic.twitter.com/pW8bftQBoJ #Taliban later allowed Khan to go to his home. In a video message released by pro-insurgent media, the former governor claimed he had joined hands with the Taliban and was “treated well in custody.” @Afghanistan #Ismailkhan https://t.co/aDnV7lsGed pic.twitter.com/XVqPNMAACh After today, I'm just going to say it: I am legitimately shocked at how quickly the cities of #Afghanistan have fallen. I knew the #ANDSF weren't as strong as advertised in rural areas, but I genuinely believed they'd stand & fight to defend the cities. I was wrong. آقای لغمانی والی با طالبان به تفاهم و معامله غزنی را از راه زمین به مقصد کابل ترک کردند و از مدت های به این طرف صدا کردم که فعالیت های مشکوک دارد. pic.twitter.com/CtOKiZgsPP

The fall of the major cities facilitated Taliban advances on surrounding smaller provincial capitals, including Tarinkot, capital of southern Uruzgan province, Firuzkoh, capital of central Ghor, and Pol-e-Alam, capital of eastern Logar province, which is hometown of President Ashraf Ghani. The Taliban through formal statements have claimed capturing these new cities and the Kabul government has not challenged these claims. In fact, the governor of Uruzgan released a video statement saying tribal elders and political leaders asked him not to put up any resistance to Taliban to avoid bloodshed, so he handed over the control to Taliban. The Taliban confirmed Friday they have arrested Herat’s former governor, warlord Ismail Khan, along with several of his top aides.