Taliban fighters have encircled ten cities across Afghanistan as government forces buckle in the face of the insurgent offensive to recapture the country after the US withdrawal.
Fighting was reported from the southern cities of Kandahar, Ghazni and Lashkah Gar, and Pul-e-Khumri and Taluqan in the north. In the western city of Qala-i-Naw, overrun by the Taliban last week before a counterattack by government special forces, the battle has raged for days.
Only 600 American troops are left in the country, deployed to protect the US embassy in Kabul and the capital’s international airport. President Biden said last week that US military operations would formally end on August 31, but the withdrawal is all but complete.
General Scott Miller, the senior US commander in
