As U.S. troops leave Afghanistan, efforts against a diminished Al Qaeda are in flux. Officials say the terrorist group could threaten the U.S. again.
In the last six months, its fighters blitzed into Arghandab, Panjwai, Maiwand and Zhare, districts around Kandahar, as part of a nationwide campaign. Earlier this month, the Islamist insurgent group seized Dahla dam, Afghanistan’s second-biggest and an essential source of irrigation and drinking water. Though the government clawed back some of those gains, the Taliban has tightened its vise around Kandahar city, the one area in Kandahar province still under relatively uncontested government control.