Taliban capture Afghanistan’s second largest city as UK and US send troops to help evacuation

The Taliban has taken control of Afghanistan’s second largest city, Kandahar, as the US and UK prepare to send in troops to help with evacuations.

Insurgents have now seized Kandahar, Harat and the Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province, an official said on Friday.

The seizure of the cities marks the biggest prizes yet for the Taliban, who have taken 12 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals as part of a week-long blitz.

With security rapidly deteriorating, the UK is preparing to send about 600 troops on a short-term basis to support British nationals leaving the country, while Canada is sending special forces to help evacuate its embassy.

The United States planned to send in 3,000 troops to help evacuate some personnel from the US Embassy in Kabul, officials said.

Continue reading:

[pjazzy]

Best leave them to their devices, we have enough problems of our own to sort out.

[Jim_]

If the people of Afghanistan want to suffer under the hands of a dictatorship then let them at it. However, if the Taliban attempts to expand beyond Afghanistan, then we need to smash any attempt by them to do so. Containment is all that we can practice from now on