Taliban captures Afghanistan's key border crossing with Iran after US troops pullout

Taliban fighters have seized control of a key district in western Afghanistan that encompasses an important border crossing with Iran, the country's security forces said on July 8. A video that has surfaced online shows Taliban insurgents taking down the Afghan flag from the roof of the Border Customs office in Islam Qala. According to BBC, Islam Qala is one of the biggest gateways into Iran generating an estimated $20 million monthly revenue for the Ashraf Ghani-led administration. 

With the US and other foreign troops nearly out of the country, the ever emboldened insurgents seized many key regions of the war-hit country. In the recent week, the Taliban has captured major regions which include area borders with five countries- Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China, and Pakistan. Additionally, Al Jazeera reported that Pitched battles between Taliban fighters and Afghan government forces were also underway in the northern Balkh province bordering Uzbekistan.

Earlier this week, US troops quietly abandoned Bagram airfield, a sprawling base that was the center of American operations in Afghanistan and once held tens of thousands of troops. Additionally, Germany also announced that their pullout was complete and all their troops had returned to their homeland. Other NATO members have also made similar announcements.  

Afghan exodus 

Afghan residents, who are already reeling with poverty, inflation, and lawlessness, fear the Taliban’s return could lead to dire consequences. Amongst them are young women, who’ve grown in the absence of Taliban rule. “With the return of the Taliban, society will be transformed and ruined. Women will be sent into hiding, they’ll be forced to wear the burqa to go out of their homes,” Sultana Karimi a salon worker in Kabul told the Associated Press.

As of now, the Taliban, which was ousted by foreign troops in 2001, has regained control over certain regions including Tagab district in Kapisa province, Shir Khan Bandar on the Afghan-Tajikistan border, and the northeastern province of Takhar. Now, it has been reported that the Taliban has issued a new set of stringent rules for residents in Takhar province including the mandatory beard.

Image: AP