Kabul: The Taliban has captured Afghanistan’s main border crossing with Tajikistan, an Afghan provincial official and army officer said on Tuesday, with some security forces abandoning their posts and fleeing across the frontier.
The seizure of Shir Khan Bandar, in the far north of Afghanistan about 50km (30 miles) from Kunduz city, is the most significant gain for the Taliban since it stepped up operations on May 1 when the US began the final stages of its troop withdrawal.
“Unfortunately this morning and after an hour of fighting the Taliban captured Shir Khan port and the town and all the border check posts with Tajikistan,” said Kunduz provincial council member Khaliddin Hakmi.
An army officer told , “We were forced to leave all check posts ,and some of our soldiers crossed the border into Tajikistan.
“By the morning, they (Taliban fighters) were everywhere, hundreds of them,” he said on condition of anonymity.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the fighters had seized the border crossing across the Pyanj River.
