A few days after the start of its lightning attack, the Taliban movement controls most of the Afghan territory and besieges the capital, Kabul, amid a state of sudden collapse of the Afghan army in conjunction with the withdrawal of US and NATO forces.
Here are some of the most important milestones in the progress of Taliban militants in the past few months.
Withdrawal of US forces
On April 14, US President Joe Biden announced that the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan would begin on May 1 and end on September 11, ending the longest US war in history.
This represents an extension of an earlier deadline for withdrawal of May 1 agreed upon between the United States and the Taliban.
On May 1,
2021, the United States and NATO began withdrawing 9,500 troops, including 2,500 US troops who were still in Afghanistan.
Fierce battles erupted between the Taliban and government forces in the southern Helmand district, while the Taliban took control of Burka district in Baghlan province, in the north.
On May 4
, Taliban militants launched a major attack on Afghan forces in the southern province of Helmand, and further attacks on at least 6 provinces across Afghanistan.
On May 8
, an attack on a girls' school killed more than 50 people in Kabul.
The authorities blamed the attack, the deadliest in a year, on the Taliban, which denied responsibility for it.
On May 11
, the Taliban take control of Narkh district just outside the capital, Kabul, as violence rages across Afghanistan.
In mid-May
, the Americans withdrew from the Kandahar air base, one of the most important bases in Afghanistan.
Taliban progress
The Taliban took control of two districts in Wardak Province near Kabul, before capturing two districts in Ghazni Province.
On June 7
, senior government officials said that more than 150 Afghan soldiers had been killed in 24 hours as the fighting raged.
They added that fighting is taking place in 26 of the country's 34 provinces.
On June 19
, in the face of the rapid advance of Taliban fighters, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani appointed two new interior and defense ministers.
On June 22
, the Taliban captured the main Sher Khan Bandar border crossing with Tajikistan, and hundreds of Afghan soldiers fled to Tajik territory.
The movement's fighters took control of the other lanes leading to Tajikistan, as well as the areas leading to Kunduz, the capital of the province of the same name.
The US Army leaves Bagram
On July 2
, US forces quietly withdrew from their main base in Afghanistan, Bagram, an hour's drive from Kabul (50 kilometers to the north), and handed it over to Afghan forces, effectively ending their involvement in the war.
On July 4
, the Taliban took control of Bangui province, about 15 km from Kandahar (south).
On July 5
, the Taliban said they could submit a written peace proposal to the Afghan government by August.
Attack on state capitals
On July 7
, the Taliban entered Qala-e-Nu, the capital of the first province (Badghis, NW).
The next day, US President Joe Biden announced that the withdrawal of his forces "will be completed on August 31".
On July 9
, the Taliban announced control of two main border crossings with Iran and Turkmenistan in Herat Province (west).
Moscow said that the movement's fighters now control most of the Afghan border with Tajikistan.
Kabul Airport Insurance
On July 11
, authorities announced that Kabul airport had been protected from missiles and missiles by an "air defense system."
On July 13
, France called on its nationals to leave Afghanistan, following a similar call from Germany.
The next day, the Taliban took control of a major border crossing with Pakistan in the south.
On July 21
, a senior US general said that Taliban militants now control about half of Afghanistan's provinces, showing the extent and speed of their advance.
Major cities are under threat
On July 27
, NATO called for a negotiated settlement to the conflict, while the United Nations feared an “unprecedented” number of civilian casualties.
On July 25
, the United States pledged to continue supporting Afghan forces "in the coming weeks" with massive air strikes to help them respond to Taliban attacks.
On August 2
, President Ashraf Ghani said the "sudden" US withdrawal was to blame for the deteriorating military situation, at a time when several major cities were under direct threat from the Taliban.
The US and British embassies in Kabul accused the Taliban of "killing dozens of civilians" in the southern Spin Boldak district.
The next day, an attack against the Minister of Defense, Major General Bismillah Mohammadi, killed 8 civilians in Kabul.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, threatening further operations in response to the army's aerial bombardment.
Control of major cities
On August 6
, Zaranj in the southwest of the country became the first provincial capital (the capital of an Afghan province) to fall to the Taliban in years.
This was followed by the fall of many cities successively in the hands of the movement.
In the following days, several major cities in the north of the country fell into the hands of the movement, namely Sheberghan, Kunduz, Sar-e-Pul, Taluqan, Aybak and Bol-Khumri (Baghlan Province) Faizabad, as well as Farah (West).
On August 10
, US President Joe Biden said he did not regret his decision to leave Afghanistan, arguing that Afghans "should fight for their country."
On August 11,
hundreds of security forces surrendered to the Taliban near Kunduz, while President Ashraf Ghani arrived in the besieged city of Mazar-i-Sharif to coordinate the response.
Herat, Kandahar and Mazar-i-Sharif
On August 12
, the Taliban took control of the city of Ghazni, 150 km southwest of Kabul, and then took Herat, Afghanistan's third largest city.
The United States and the United Kingdom announced sending thousands of soldiers to Kabul to evacuate diplomats and nationals, and other members of NATO announced the evacuation of staff from their embassies.
On August 13
, 4 other state capitals fell in one day, including Kandahar, the second largest city in the country and the spiritual stronghold of the Taliban, Bul Alam, the capital of Logar Province, just 50 kilometers south of Kabul, and Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand.
The movement's fighters also overran the city of Herat in the west and arrested the prominent commander Muhammad Ismail Khan, one of the most prominent field commanders in the war against the Taliban.
On August 14
, President Ghani pledged to remobilize the army against the Taliban.
On August 14
, the Taliban took control of the main city of Mazar-i-Sharif in the north of the country, and then the city of Bel Alam, the capital of Logar province, 70 kilometers north of Kabul, after weak resistance.
On August 14, the
United States sent more troops to help evacuate civilians from Kabul, while Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was consulting with local and international partners on next steps.
On August 15
, the movement's fighters besieged the capital, Kabul, after the movement took control of the main eastern city of Jalalabad without a fight, and reached its outskirts in more than one direction, amid a diplomatic and political movement in order to push for a peaceful and smooth transfer of power in the besieged capital.