Afghan commandos battle Taliban for control of city as residents flee
- Plumes of smoke billowed over Qala-i-Naw, the capital of Badghis province, as fighting raged for a second straight day
- With the US pull-out ‘90 per cent complete’, the insurgents have launched a blistering campaign to capture new territory
Plumes of smoke billowed over Qala-i-Naw as fighting raged for a second straight day in the capital of Badghis province, with residents either fleeing the city or barricading themselves in their homes.
With the US pull-out “90 per cent complete” according to the Pentagon, the insurgents have launched a blistering campaign to capture new territory, and fears are mounting that Afghan forces will collapse without vital American air support.
President Ashraf Ghani said the government had the capacity to handle the situation, but admitted difficulties lay ahead.
“What we are witnessing is one of the most complicated stages of the transition,” he said in a speech in Kabul.
“Legitimacy is ours; God is with us.”
02:43
US troops leave Afghanistan’s Bagram airbase without notifying new Afghan commander