Afghanistan: Taliban takes Sheberghan city; second provincial capital in less than a day

In a major advancement, the Islamist insurgent group Taliban has captured Sheberghan city in the northern province of Jawzjan making it the second provincial capital to fall in less than 24 hours. Previously, the fundamentalist group took control of Zaranj city in Nimroz province along with four other districts. Later, Al Jazeera reported citing Qader Malia, the deputy governor of Jawzjan, that all the government forces and officials in the capital have retreated to the airport, where they were planning a defense move. 

Later, Provincial councilor, Bismillah Sahil, revealed further and said that Taliban fighters had taken over all the government buildings in the city including the Governor’s building, police headquarters and central prison in the city. According to AP, residents also reported heavy airstrikes in the city.  It is imperative to note that the city of Sheberghan also housed notorious warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, who reportedly returned back home earlier this week after undergoing medical treatment in Turkey. 

Taliban’s offensives first began after US President Joe Biden announced a complete retraction of American and foreign troops from the war-torn land. The fundamentalist group, which ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist in the 1990s, soon started gaining ground, seizing major cities and key border points. The offensives triggered a retaliatory reaction from the Afghan military which, supported by the US, launched targeted strikes at the insurgent’s hideouts.  

Taliban assassinates Afghan govt’s media head 

Both the territorial conquests come after Taliban fighters assassinated the government's top media and information officer in the capital city of Kabul. Dawa Khan Menapal, who was the head of Government Media and Information Centre (GMIC), was shot dead in his vehicle on Friday, August 6, in Kabul's Darulaman district, TOLO news reported. Menapal was a former journalist and had also served as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's spokesperson. Earlier this week, the Taliban had even launched an attack on Afghanistan's acting defense minister General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, in which eight people were killed and 20 others suffered injuries. The defense minister however escaped unhurt in the attack claimed by the Taliban. The bomb blast was followed by a gun battle in which all the four attackers were shot. 

Image: AP