Taliban strikes deep into Helmand province
Militant group now controls three districts captured by British and US forces during the Afghanistan war
Taliban insurgents have made further gains in Helmand this week, seizing a strategically significant district headquarters on Monday despite bombing by US warplanes and resistance from the Afghan army.
Militants overran Helmand's Musa Qala district on Monday – an area that was originally taken from them by British and Afghan forces in 2008.
US warplanes bombed the advancing Taliban over the weekend, killing 40 fighters, but the insurgents regrouped and overran Musa Qala, forcing district government forces to retreat, Newsweek reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Afghan special forces, police and commandos have been deployed to Helmand in order to retake Musa Qala district. Foreign air strikes are backing our forces," said Afghan defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri.
The Taliban victory follows a withdrawal last week by Afghan soldiers from Nawzad – a neighbouring district captured by British and American troops during the war.
The withdrawal, in conjunction with the assault on Musa Qala, gives the Taliban control of three districts in northern Helmand as well as partial control of other parts of the region, including Kajaki, which allows them to disrupt the power supply from a large US-built hydroelectric dam.
What happens next?
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
A senior official in the Afghan Army’s 215 Maiwand Corps told the New York Times that "foreign forces" would be providing air support as the Afghan army moved to take Musa Qala back.
However, the loss of control of the region raises further questions over the achievements of US and UK forces in Afghanistan. As the UK ended combat operations in Afghanistan last year, the restoration of security in the most densely populated areas – the "green zone" – either side of the Helmand river was regarded as one of the allies' most significant successes, the BBC says. Consequently, the return of fighting to the region will be seen as a major blow as the Taliban's power continues to increase and poppy growing remains at record levels.
-
‘Businesses that lose money and are uncompetitive won’t survive’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Film reviews: Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Frankenstein, and Blue MoonFeature A rock star on the rise turns inward, a stressed mother begins to unravel, and more
-
Podcast reviews: ‘Fela Kuti: Fear No Man,’ ‘David Bowie: Changeling’ and ‘The Adam Friedland Show’feature Fela Kuti’s revolutionary life, David Bowie’s early years, and Adam Friedland reinvents the talk show
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
The Taliban wages war on high-speed internetTHE EXPLAINER A new push to cut nationwide access to the digital world is taking Afghanistan back to the isolationist extremes of decades past
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Kabul braces for a waterless futureTHE EXPLAINER A confluence of manmade and environmental factors makes the Afghan city the first modern capital to risk running out of groundwater
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024