Moment 350 Afghan troops ‘surrender to Taliban’ & tanks captured as group seize third of country weeks before Nato exit

THIS is the moment 350 Afghan troops reportedly surrendered to the Taliban as the terror group continues to accelerate its campaign to gain ultimate control over the war-torn country.

Another video appears to show a line of captured tanks as militants seized territory and overran checkpoints across the north as US and Nato forces withdraw, with Jihadists already taking over a third of Afghanistan.

Unverified footage reportedly shows 350 Afghan soldiers surrender to the Taliban near Kabul as they seized weapons and ammunition after capturing a strategic base in the Ghazni province.

The Muqur district fell to the Taliban after months of being under siege, according to a member of the provincial council and a security source.

Officials said on Monday that Taliban militants have taken over another district, launching attacks on checkpoints and cementing control over a border trade crossing as clashes intensify in Afghanistan's central and northern provinces.

A health centre in the Muqur district was bombed on Monday morning, according to provincial health director Zaher Shah Nekmal, injuring five health workers.

Another unconfirmed clip allegedly shows dozens of the Kabul regime's tanks being seized in the Faryab province.

Violence has risen sharply around the country as foreign forces work towards withdrawing by September 11 and peace talks in Qatar have failed to make significant progress.

The Taliban have launched a wave of offensives around the country, particularly in the north, outside of their southern strongholds.

In central Bamiyan province, Taliban fighters attacked several security checkpoints, resulting in heavy clashes overnight, according to Humayoon Elkhani, spokesman for Bamiyan's provincial police.

In northern Badakhshan province, the Taliban launched coordinated attacks on five districts overnight but were fought back by Afghan security forces, according to a spokesperson for the provincial government.

The Taliban also still has maintained control of Shir Khan Bandar, a significant border crossing town with Tajikistan, after seizing it last week.

Shafiqullah Atayi, chairman of Afghanistan's Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said the Taliban had appointed their own members to run the administration offices but that trade had stopped.

A Taliban spokesman said they had appointed officials to run the transit point and it was open for people to cross.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's capital Kabul suffered severe power outages in recent days after a power pylon in central Parwan province was blown up on the weekend by unknown attackers.

A spokesperson for national power utility Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat said around 35 power pylons had been blown up in the last six months, but they were not clear on who was behind the explosions. 

The Taliban have been on tenterhooks to forge ahead with their scheme since President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of troops back in April and have since continued at “lightning speed”.

Jihadist forces have now advanced across rural areas, putting them in reaching distance of major cities such as Herat and Kabul.

A recent US intelligence report warned they could take the capital, Kabul, within six months.

They have now seized hold in almost twice as much of Afghanistan as they had two months ago – sparking concerns they are planning an explosive offensive this summer.

The US President’s plans to withdraw all forces by September 11 have been called into question as the Taliban continue to taunt the Western power with “significant pressures”.

Since May, the Taliban have captured at least 69 of 407 Afghan districts, including some that were considered government strongholds.

Missions were expected to focus on territory in the south and east, traditional Taliban strongholds, but they have alarmingly focused their offensives in the north.

With 142 districts under their control, the terror group has their sights firmly set on the 170 they don’t yet have – but amid their mounting success, they have changed tactics.

Their victorious streak threatens to reverse the efforts of the US and NATO’s two decades of service and waste the colossal costs of fighting the “long war”.

The Defense Department’s latest report from 2020 revealed they had spent $815.7billion (£586.7billion) – nearly $1TRILLION – on war-fighting.

US Congress found that around $19billion (£13.6billion) had been lost to waste, fraud and abuse between May 2009 and December 31, 2019.

Not to mention the human costs – as it is estimated 66,000 to 69,000 Afghan troops have perished, while UN Watchdogs said 72 journalists and 444 aid workers had lost their lives.

The UN estimate nearly 11,000 civilians have been killed or injured since they began recording casualties in 2009.

Almost 2.7 million Afghans have been forced to flee the conflict, while another 4 million are now displaced within their home country.

It has exhausted Afghan forces, seeing troops complain they are outnumbered, outgunned, under-paid and weary from 20 years of fighting.

The jihadists have taken advantage of their fatigued opponents – seeing some government units surrender and reportedly negotiate agreements with them instead of risking further bloodshed.

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