The insurgents then seized Kunduz, a strategically important provincial capital in northern Afghanistan, on Sunday — making it the first major city to fall to the Taliban since it began its offensive in May. With a population of 375,000, Kunduz is a significant military prize.
In the past week, the US has increased airstrikes against Taliban positions in a bid to halt their advances. The Taliban has accused the US of bombing a hospital and a high school, along with other civilian targets in Helmand Province. CNN could not independently verify their claims.
"US forces have conducted several airstrikes in defense of our Afghan partners in recent days," Maj. Nicole Ferrara, a US Central Command spokesperson, said on Sunday, sidestepping a question about the targets of the strikes.
'Getting nasty'
A senior Afghan security official said that although things were changing rapidly on the battlefield, US air support of Afghanistan's military forces was still scheduled to stop at the end of this month when the US withdrawal is complete. The official said that there had been no change in US policy despite the fast Taliban advance on the ground.
"We need close air support," the Afghan official told CNN over the weekend. "Things are getting nasty."
US CentCom commander Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie publicly stated in July that the US will stop its air support to Afghan forces — and likely undertake only limited counter-terrorism strikes — once the withdrawal is over. All foreign forces are expected to leave Afghanistan by August 31.
Meanwhile, concerns are mounting over the civilian toll of the militant group's advances. The vast majority of these have been made since the US drawdown of forces began in May.
Last week, Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar said that the recent Taliban offensive had killed more than 3,000 people nationwide and displaced more than 300,000 in the last few months.
Some 5,183 casualties were recorded in the first six months of the year — a 47 percent increase from 2020 — the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a July report. The UNAMA report noted that deaths and injuries spiked markedly from May.
The Red Cross has helped provide treatment for more than 49,500 people injured in the first half of the year, as fighting escalates and as many flee in search of safety. — CNN
