Taliban capture key Afghan dam as fighting escalates
The Taliban have captured Afghanistan's second-biggest dam after months of fierce fighting in their former bastion of Kandahar, the insurgents and officials said yesterday.
Dahla Dam, which provides irrigation to farmers via a network of canals as well as drinking water for the provincial capital, was now under Taliban control, local officials told AFP.
"We have seized the Dahla Dam in Arghandab," Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP. Haji Gulbuddin, governor of an adjacent district, confirmed the dam "is now in the control of the Taliban.
The dam's capture comes after clashes erupted in neighbouring Helmand province this week, just days after the US military formally began withdrawing its remaining troops from Afghanistan.
Dahla was built by the United States nearly 70 years ago to provide water for irrigating land in about seven districts of Kandahar.
In neighbouring Helmand, thousands of people have fled their homes in the face of a massive Taliban offensive against government forces.
US warplanes have been providing air support for the Afghan forces despite the drawdown of foreign troops.
Meanwhile, a high-profile Afghan television journalist was shot dead in southern Kandahar city yesterday, officials said, a day after the Taliban warned against "biased reporting" by the media.
Nemat Rawan was until last month a popular talk show host with the country's leading broadcaster Tolo News, before joining the ministry of finance as a communications specialist.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have been blamed for a wave of assassinations targeting journalists in recent months.
On Wednesday, a Taliban spokesman warned that media workers who carry out "biased reporting" would be "held responsible".
Members of Afghanistan's educated class -- including journalists, activists and judges -- have for months been the target of bombings and shootings, forcing many to go into hiding or leave the country.
At least 11 Afghan journalists were killed in 2020, with four more reportedly murdered this year, according to a recent toll from Amnesty International.
The United States was supposed to have pulled all forces out by May 1 under a deal struck with the Taliban last year, but Washington pushed back the date to September 11 -- a move that angered the insurgents.
Comments