Taliban Capture at Least a Dozen Districts as Afghan Fighting Rages

ISLAMABAD - Taliban insurgents have continued to make rapid territorial gains in Afghanistan as the United States said its last remaining troops are expected to withdraw from the conflict-torn country by the end of August. The Taliban is on the verge taking Faizabad town of Afghanistan’s Badaghshan province. This afternoon, senior local officials took this flight and escaped to Kabul. Tonight, Faizabad could become the first provincial capital falling to the Taliban. pic.twitter.com/9H9rB5y8gU #Breaking: Baharak district of Badakhshan was liberated from the control of terrorists again. The Taliban suffered heavy casualties in the operations of the defense and security forces and the people uprising forces and they fled the district.

Multiple Afghan sources said Saturday the Taliban had pressured pro-government forces to retreat from at least a dozen districts in northeastern Badakhshan and Takhar border provinces in the past 24 hours. Pro-government forces in many areas are said to be surrendering and abandoning territory without offering any resistance to the Taliban. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline. More than 300 Afghan border troops escaped the fighting in Badakhshan by fleeing into neighboring Tajikistan, according to the official media of the neighboring Central Asian state. The Afghan personnel were allowed to enter the Tajik territory “in line with the principles of humanity and good neighborliness,” the report added. Last week, intense clashes with Taliban fighters also prompted scores of Afghan soldiers to flee into Tajikistan.