Taliban Claim High-Ranking Officials In Seized Herat Province Join Their Ranks

KABUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2021) The Taliban (a terrorist group banned in Russia) issued a statement on Friday claiming that the senior officials of the western Afghan province of Herat, which had fallen to the militants, allegedly joined the Islamist movement.

The Taliban tweeted that the Herat governor, police chief, deputy minister of interior for security, the 207 Corps commander, "thousands of soldiers and supporters" and former Mujahideen leader Ismail Khan have joined their ranks.

The TOLOnews broadcaster also reported, citing sources, that everyone, including Khan, surrendered to the militants.

In early August, the Taliban captured one of the 34 Afghan provinces for the first time since 2016.

Soon, they claimed to have seized more than ten provinces. On Thursday, the militants reportedly established control over Kandahar, the second-biggest city in the country. As of Friday, 18 provincial capitals have fallen to the Taliban.

Afghanistan is seeing a spike in violence now as the Taliban have stepped up their offensive after international troops started a gradual withdrawal from the country, scheduled to be completed by September 11. The pullout was stipulated in the agreement the Taliban and the United States signed in Doha in February 2020.