Taliban forces capture 8th city in Afghanistan as thousands flee

US President Joe Biden urges Afghan leaders to ‘come together’ and fight for themselves, says he does not regret decision to withdraw troops

Eight provincial capitals to have fallen since Friday in the country’s north, with insurgents setting their sights on Mazar-i-Sharif, the region’s biggest city

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Taliban fighters patrol inside Farah city, southwest of Kabul, on August 11, 2021. Photo: AP

Published: 5:15am, 11 Aug 2021Updated: 10:37pm, 16 Aug 2021

Taliban fighters could isolate Afghanistan’s capital in 30 days and possibly take it over in 90, a US defence official told Reuters on Wednesday citing US intelligence, as militants took control of an eighth provincial Afghan capital.

The Taliban now control 65 per cent of Afghanistan and have taken or threaten to take 11 provincial capitals, a senior EU official said on Tuesday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the new assessment of how long Kabul could stand was a result of the rapid gains the Taliban had been making around the country as US-led foreign forces leave.

“But this is not a foregone conclusion,” the official added, saying that the Afghan security forces could reverse the momentum by putting up more resistance.

Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Farah on August 11, 2021. Photo: AP

Wednesday’s loss of Faizabad, capital of the northeastern province of Badakhshan, was the latest setback for the Afghan government, which has been struggling to stem the momentum of Taliban assaults.