Afghanistan Denies Alleged Taliban Takeover of Entire Province
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
7 Jul 2021
Afghan security officials on Wednesday denied Taliban claims, and reports from some local observers, that Badghis province has been completely conquered by the advancing Islamist insurgency.
The governor of Badghis claimed a counteroffensive has dislodged occupying Taliban forces from the provincial capital of Qala-e-Naw.
A representative to the Afghan parliament from Badghis, Abdulbasir Osmani, told Khaama Press on Wednesday the Taliban captured Qala-e-Naw on Tuesday afternoon after steadily rolling up every district in the province. A Taliban spokesman also claimed the city and province had fallen.
The Afghan Defense Ministry conceded government forces in Badghis were in a “very sensitive military situation” and said “war is raging” with the Taliban for control of the capital. Foreign media reports indicated police and intelligence agency headquarters in Qala-e-Naw were under insurgent control.