The Afghan government said that its air forces bombed Taliban targets today, at a time when Western forces expressed concern about the Taliban's rapid field progress after controlling more than one city in the north of the country.

A spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense said that a US B-52 aircraft targeted a gathering of Taliban militants in the evening, in the city of Sheberghan, the capital of Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan.

This development came a few hours after the Taliban announced the control of its militants over the center of the province, which is the second state to announce control of it within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, officials said that an Afghan Air Force pilot was killed Saturday in a Kabul neighborhood in an explosion claimed by the Taliban.

Officials said the bomb that killed pilot Hamidullah Azimi was attached to a car that exploded as he was traveling.

They added that five civilians were wounded in the blast.

The commander of the Afghan Air Force, Abdul Fattah Ishaqzai, told Reuters that Azimi was trained to pilot the US helicopters "UH-60 Black Hawk" and had been working in the Afghan Air Force for nearly four years, adding that Azimi moved to Kabul with his family a year ago to escape from liquidate it.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the Taliban carried out the attack.


filter pilots

According to Reuters, the Taliban is leading a campaign to assassinate pilots outside air bases.

Officials say the campaign killed at least seven pilots before Saturday's explosion.

The Taliban confirmed a campaign of "targeting and liquidating" the US-trained war pilots.

US and Afghan officials believe that this operation is aimed at eliminating Afghan war pilots trained by the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Western concern is rising

Earlier on Saturday, the United States and Britain condemned the Taliban attacks on Afghan cities, describing them as violent.

The US embassy said in a statement that the Taliban attempted to illegally seize the capitals of Nimroz and Jawzjan states, and stressed that the movement's actions to impose its rule by force contradict its claim to support a negotiated settlement.

The embassy called on the Taliban to establish a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire and to engage in peace negotiations.

For his part, the commander of the British armed forces, General Nick Carter, said that it was never possible to defend all of Afghanistan against the advance of the Taliban, especially in rural areas.

Carter added that what is important is to preserve urban areas and state capitals and their surroundings, calling on Afghans to unite in the face of the Taliban.

He also said that the international community has to play a pivotal role to show confidence in the Afghan people and help them remain steadfast, as he described it.

The British general called for exposing the practices of the Taliban leadership, forcing them to return to the negotiating table, and not giving them "false" legitimacy.

IEA flag raised in Dande Patan district of Paktia province.

pic.twitter.com/45XRO5VWyv

— Muhammad Jalal (@MJalal700) August 7, 2021

field progress

The Taliban declared control of the capital of Jawzjan province, bordering Turkmenistan, thus continuing its rapid field progress, at a time when Washington and London called on their citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately.

The Taliban have confirmed control of the city of Sherberghan (the capital of Jowzjan province) on the border with Turkmenistan.

The movement's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that the strategic capital of Jowzjan (the city of Sheberghan) was liberated "by the mujahideen in the framework of the conquest operations."

And he added - in a tweet on Twitter - that the information indicates that the office of the governor of the state, the headquarters of the intelligence service and all related buildings were completely "under the control of the Mujahideen."

Yesterday, the Taliban announced its control over the center of a province located in the west of the country.

A police spokesman in Nimroz province, bordering Iran and Pakistan, said the capital, "Zarang", had fallen to the Taliban due to a lack of government reinforcements.

On the other hand, the government Ministry of Defense announced the killing of about 385 Taliban militants in raids and bombings targeting the movement's sites in more than one province during the past 24 hours.

Ministry spokesman Fouad Aman said that the Taliban suffered heavy losses in Kunduz city as a result of the air strikes.

Washington and London call

In the face of the continuation of the battles and the progress of the Taliban on many fronts, both the United States and Britain demanded their nationals to leave Afghanistan immediately.

The US Embassy in Kabul said it was urging its nationals to leave this country using available commercial flights.

For its part, the British Foreign Office advised its nationals to leave Afghanistan due to the deteriorating security situation.