Taliban announced seizure of three administrative centers in Afghanistan | News from Germany about events in the world

Contradictory reports come on Sunday, August 8, about the situation in Kunduz, the center of the province of the same name in northern Afghanistan. “Kunduz fell. The Taliban took control of all important buildings in the city,” an AFP correspondent in Kunduz said, confirming the Islamists’ claim. This information was also confirmed to dpa by a senior source in the provincial administration.

On the other hand, official Kabul did not confirm the fall of Kunduz. Interfax, citing a video message from the commander of the Afghan National Army’s special forces in Kunduz province to the city’s population, reports on street fighting in the provincial capital. According to this information, the central square of the city, the headquarters of the National Radio and Television in the center of Kunduz, have already been liberated from the Taliban. The operation to clean up the city continues.

Bundeswehr field camp

From 2003 to 2013, a Bundeswehr field camp was located in Kunduz. German soldiers, who were part of the international coalition, from here helped government forces to ensure security in northern Afghanistan.

Since 2015, Kunduz has been captured by the Islamists three times. The current siege of the city has lasted for several weeks.

Taliban announced the capture of two more administrative centers

Earlier in the day, Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the radical Islamist Taliban movement, said that the movement’s militants, in addition to Kunduz, also captured the city of Sari-Pul, the administrative center of the province of the same name. At the same time, according to the AFP, fierce fighting between Islamists and security forces continues there.

By the end of the day (local time), another statement by Mujahid appeared – about the capture of the city of Talukan, the center of the Takhar province in the northeast of the country. Afghan and provincial officials have not yet commented on this statement.

Fights with the Taliban in Afghanistan

After the withdrawal of most of the international coalition forces, government forces in Afghanistan are fighting the Taliban on various fronts. Radical Islamists already control much of the rural areas and are now increasing pressure on provincial capitals such as Herat near the Iranian border and Lashkar Gah and Kandahar in the south of the country. The day before, the Islamists seized two administrative centers within 24 hours: Shebergan in the northern Afghan province of Jowzjan and Zaranj in the province of Nimroz in the southwest.

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Farewell to Afghanistan: 13 years of ISAF mission
First military mission outside Europe
On January 11, 2002, the first 70 German troops arrived in Kabul. Thus began the first non-European military operation of the Bundeswehr. In the midst of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, up to 5,350 Bundeswehr personnel were based. Germany contributed the third largest military contingent after the United States and Great Britain to the ISAF international forces.

Farewell to Afghanistan: 13 years of ISAF mission
First victims
An explosion in Kabul on March 6, 2002 killed two German and three Danish soldiers while trying to defuse a rocket. During the years of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, 55 soldiers of the Bundeswehr have lost their lives.

Farewell to Afghanistan: 13 years of ISAF mission
“Defend Germany’s Security in the Hindu Kush”
On July 26, 2002, German Defense Minister Peter Struck flew to the Bundeswehr base in Afghanistan. The politician responded to criticism of the German military presence in this country with a phrase, which was then readily quoted by journalists: “The security of the Federal Republic of Germany is also protected in the Hindu Kush.”

Farewell to Afghanistan: 13 years of ISAF mission
Responsibility for northern Afghanistan
The Bundeswehr was involved in a relatively calm region in the north of the country. Thus, it was possible to soften criticism in Germany itself and at the same time fulfill the expectations in the world associated with the participation of the Bundeswehr in the ISAF mission. Since October 2003, German soldiers have been based in Kunduz province. In 2006, Germany assumed primary responsibility for stability in northern Afghanistan.

Farewell to Afghanistan: 13 years of ISAF mission
Specific assistance to the population
Germany was the first NATO country to send specialists to the Regional Infrastructure Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan (PRT). Civilian rebuilding and armed security were seen as two sides of the same coin. Germany will provide financial assistance for the reconstruction of Afghanistan beyond 2014.

Farewell to Afghanistan: 13 years of ISAF mission
Training for Afghan Security Forces
Germany has also taken a leading role in the training of Afghan security forces. More than 60,000 police and soldiers have been trained in four centers located in different parts of Afghanistan. The German government has provided 380 million euros for this purpose.

Farewell to Afghanistan: 13 years of ISAF mission
Black day
On September 4, 2009, German Colonel Georg Klein demanded a NATO airstrike on two oil tankers stolen by the Taliban in Kunduz province. As a result, more than 90 civilians, including children, were killed. The investigation in Germany on suspicion of a war crime committed by Colonel Klein was dropped.

Farewell to Afghanistan: 13 years of ISAF mission
Inadvertent statements by the federal president
On May 22, 2010, German President Horst Köhler lashed out at himself in Germany with a statement made on a plane on his way back from Afghanistan. He justified the participation of the Bundeswehr in the ISAF mission, including the economic interests of Germany. Köhler resigned shortly after this announcement.

Farewell to Afghanistan: 13 years of ISAF mission
Gradual withdrawal of troops
By the end of 2014, the Bundeswehr, in agreement with NATO partners, will completely withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. Back in 2010, German soldiers left the province of Badakhshan, a year later – the province of Kunduz. The military bases of the Bundeswehr were transferred to the armed forces of Afghanistan. The German base near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif until the end of 2012 was the main field camp of the Bundeswehr in northern Afghanistan.

Farewell to Afghanistan: 13 years of ISAF mission
Security threat
When the military base in Kunduz was handed over to the Afghans, NATO officers said they were leaving the region in which peace was restored, guarded by the Afghan military. But the bloody terrorist attacks in Afghanistan do not stop. First of all, residents of the northern regions are worried about their safety.

Farewell to Afghanistan: 13 years of ISAF mission
The last stronghold is the military base “Marmol”
The Marmol base was the place where many Bundeswehr soldiers said goodbye to Afghanistan. From there, the troops were sent back to Germany. Marmol will remain the Bundeswehr’s largest base in Afghanistan beyond 2014. At the end of the ISAF mission, about 650 German instructors will be deployed in this camp to train and advise the Afghan army.

Farewell to Afghanistan: 13 years of ISAF mission
Strong support
The ISAF mission will be followed by another mission, “Resolute Support”, which will last until at least the end of 2016. Up to 13 thousand foreign servicemen will participate in it. The main task of the new mission will be to support and train soldiers of the Afghan army. Germany will send up to 850 troops to participate in it.
Author: Masud Sayfulla, Olga Demidova