Fall of Ghazni Leaves Afghanistan’s Capital Exposed

Kabul is clearly in Taliban sights as offensive mounts

by Jason Ditz 

Posted onAugust 12, 2021CategoriesNewsTagsAfghanistan

Northern Afghanistan is falling decisively, as are major southern cities like Kandahar. On Thursday, one of the big losses was in central Afghanistan, where Ghazni City was taken by the Taliban.

The 10th provincial capital the Taliban took (the total was 12 by day’s end), the value of Ghazni is not just in its own value as a city, but in its location on the main Afghan highway, less than 100 miles from the capital of Kabul.

Just a week into the offensive, the amount of territory changing hands is giving the Taliban a sense of overwhelming momentum. The fall of Kabul would be effectively game over for the Ghani government. The fall of Ghazni just makes that closer to happening.

The Ghazni governor, Daoud Laghmani, was reported arrested, and accused of handing over the city in a secret deal with the Taliban. The Interior Ministry claimed security forces are still resisting in other parts of the province.

Cities falling with limited resistance is becoming increasingly common, however, with the Taliban’s rate of advance and the government’s rare use of reinforcements, many seem to believe they’re better off surrendering than fighting it out.

 https://news.antiwar.com/2021/08/12/fall-of-ghazni-leaves-afghanistans-capital-exposed/