With U.S. Forces Leaving Afghanistan, The Taliban Are Making Significant MIlitary Gains In The Country

Taliban Making Military Gains in Afghanistan -- New York Times

MAHMUD RAQI, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters are scoring early gains in several strategic areas near the capital this summer, inflicting heavy casualties and casting new doubt on the ability of Afghan forces to contain the insurgency as the United States moves to complete its withdrawal of combat troops, according to Afghan officials and local elders.

The Taliban have found success beyond their traditional strongholds in the rural south and are now dominating territory near crucial highways and cities that surround Kabul, the capital, in strategic provinces like Kapisa and Nangarhar.

Their advance has gone unreported because most American forces have left the field and officials in Kabul have largely refused to talk about it. The Afghan ministries have not released casualty statistics since an alarming rise in army and police deaths last year.

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My Comment: U.S. news on the Afghan war is now almost non-existent .... but other sources are collaborating the above New York Times report that the Taliban are making significant gains in the countryside. Even the Taliban leader Mullah Omar is now making his presence felt.