Taloquan, the capital of Takhar Province, is just the latest in a string of victories that come as foreign forces, led by the United States, complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The speed of the militants’ gains, which include the major city of Kunduz, has compounded concerns about the civilian toll. At least 27 children have been killed and 136 injured over the past 72 hours in Afghanistan, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement Monday. UNICEF said the bulk of the casualties were in Kandahar province, where fierce fighting between Taliban forces and the Afghan army continues.
“These atrocities are evidence of the brutal nature and scale of violence in Afghanistan which preys on already vulnerable children,” UNICEF said, adding that there are reports that children are “increasingly, being recruited into the conflict by armed groups.”
On Friday, the first provincial capital, Zaranj, near the Iranian border, fell to the Taliban. The next,…