Taliban takes control of key districts in Afghanistan's Kandahar amid US troop withdrawal

Amid the ongoing US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban on Sunday took control of a key district in their former bastion of Kandahar. Citing officials, Geo News reported that after fierce overnight fighting with Afghan forces, the Taliban took over the Panjwai district. The group has pressed on with its campaign to capture territory across Afghanistan's rural areas since early May when the US military began the pull-out. 

Taliban threatens US troop

The fall of the Panjwai district in the southern province of Kandahar comes just two days after US and NATO forces vacated their main Bagram Air Base near Kabul, from where they led operations for two decades against the Taliban and their Al-Qaeda allies. The exit of foreign troops from Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, has generated concerns that the Taliban will ramp up their campaign to capture the new territory. Bagram Air Base has a great military force and markable significance, with foreign forces previously stationed, offering vital air support in the fight against the Taliban.

Afghan authorities, who have taken control of the base, said that they will use it to fight terrorism, and have already re-activated its radar system. Over the years, the Taliban and Afghan forces have regularly clashed in and around Panjwai, with the Taliban aiming to curb it given its proximity to Kandahar city, the provincial capital. Taliban has issued a new set of distressing rules for residents in Takhar province including the mandatory beard. On Saturday, the Civil society activists in Takhar said that Taliban officials have ordered men to grow beards, banned women from stepping out of their homes without male supervision, and have set new dowry regulations for girls. “Taliban insists on trials without evidence” disclosed Merajuddin Sharifi, a civil society activist from the province.

The US ends its 20-year war with the Taliban

This comes as the White House confirmed that all US Troops will pull out of Afghanistan by the end of August adding that all American and NATO forces have already left conflict scarred Bagram airbase. Addressing a media conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki further confirmed that Pentagon will continue to provide security systems and humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country in the coming months. US troops had been stationed in Afghanistan for nearly two decades but a tripartite agreement inked between Taliban, Kabul, and Washington in 2020 has facilitated their return. Kandahar provincial council head Sayed Jan Khakriwal confirmed the fall of Panjwai, but accused government forces of "intentionally withdrawing". Fighting has raged across several provinces of Afghanistan in recent weeks and the Taliban claim to have seized more than 100 out of nearly 400 districts in the country. Meanwhile, Afghan officials disputed the claims but acknowledged that government troops have retreated from some districts. It is difficult to independently verify the situation.