Taliban moves into Kandahar city
Key target under attack as militants emboldened by departure of U.S. troops.
By Adam Nossiter
New York Times
July 9, 2021 — 9:43pm
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KABUL, Afghanistan – Taliban forces on Friday penetrated Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city, in a new phase of a sweeping insurgent offensive that has captured territory across the country since May 1, when U.S. forces began withdrawing.
The insurgents had been encroaching on Kandahar, the capital of the province of the same name, for several weeks, capturing surrounding districts, before entering the city for the first time Friday.
Taliban fighters entered Kandahar's Seventh Police District on Friday, seizing houses and engaging with security forces in the area, said Bahir Ahmadi, spokesperson for the Kandahar governor. Commandos and other special forces units were battling the insurgents well into the evening, proceeding cautiously because the area is heavily populated, Ahmadi said.