In the aftermath of an attack on the Afghan Defense Minister in Kabul, the Taliban said on Wednesday (August 4th) that they would carry out further attacks against Afghan government officials, while continuing to fight for control of several large cities under siege.

Tuesday's attack on Defense Minister Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi, who came out unharmed, is "the start of retaliatory operations" against senior government officials for their bombing campaign. ordered, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, warned in a statement.

The Afghan and American armies have carried out multiple aerial bombardments in recent days in an attempt to hamper the Taliban's advance on several major urban centers.

This is the first attack in Kabul of such magnitude claimed by the Taliban in months.

They had instead spared the capital after signing an agreement with Washington in February 2020 in Doha providing for the withdrawal of all foreign soldiers from Afghanistan.

Two large explosions including that of a car bomb, accompanied by an armed assault, rocked Kabul on Tuesday evening, killing eight civilians and injuring around 20.

The security forces took about five hours to break down resistance from the attackers, all of whom were killed.

Meanwhile, many Kabul residents, responding to an appeal on social media, climbed to rooftops or took to the streets to support, shouting "Allah Akbar" (God is the greatest), the forces Afghans.

A counterattack by Afghan forces

Defense Ministry spokesman Fawad Aman said on Wednesday that a counterattack by Afghan forces had started in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province.

"The operation is being carried out slowly and cautiously, as the Taliban are using people's homes as refuge and civilians as shields," he said on Twitter.

Clearing and offensive operations have started in #Lashkargah city, the capital of Helmand province last night.

#Terrorists have no way to flee from Lashkargah, they will be killed.

pic.twitter.com/YnkTE8QwYm

- Fawad Aman (@ FawadAman2) August 5, 2021

After days of fighting, the townspeople were trying to flee on Wednesday, in accordance with army orders.

Civilians have already paid a heavy price in the conflict in Lashkar Gah, a city of 200,000 people.

At least 40 civilians have been killed and 118 injured in the past 24 hours, the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) announced on Tuesday.

The Taliban have seized vast rural areas and key border posts in the past three months in a blitz attack launched in favor of the withdrawal of international forces, which is due to be fully completed by August 31.

After encountering weak resistance in the countryside, for several days they have turned their attention to the large urban centers, encircling several provincial capitals.

These towns remain controlled by the army, but the fall of one of them would have a devastating psychological effect on the authorities.

A humanitarian crisis   

The United Nations said it had received reports of increasing civilian deaths and damage to critical infrastructure in Helmand and Kandahar provinces. 

"Hospitals and health workers are overwhelmed," said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN, during a press briefing on Wednesday.

Fighting for several days between the Taliban and government forces on the outskirts of Kandahar and Herat, the second and third largest cities in Afghanistan.

In Herat, however, the authorities assured Tuesday that they had started to loosen the grip of the insurgents.

The specter of a return to power by the Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and the end of 2001 by imposing an ultra-rigorous Islamic regime, before being ousted by an international coalition led by the United States, worries many. 'Afghans.

Summary executions according to Human Rights Watch

The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused in a statement the Taliban of having "summarily" executed, for their alleged links with the government, soldiers, police officers and civilians held captive in the territories which they had recently conquered.

In a statement Wednesday, the insurgents accused Washington of encouraging an "exodus" by granting visas to Afghans who worked for the United States in the country, so that they escape possible Taliban reprisals. 

The United States and Great Britain have also accused the Taliban of committing atrocities amounting to "war crimes" in Spin Boldak, on the Pakistani border. 

Pakistan's national security adviser, whose relations with Kabul are strained and who is regularly accused of supporting the Taliban, called on both sides to make "concessions" to reach a peaceful solution. 

With AFP

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