Taliban Capture Northern Afghan District Amid Surge in Violence

An Afghan National Army soldier sits on a back of an army vehicle at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan April 21, 2021. (Reuters)
An Afghan National Army soldier sits on a back of an army vehicle at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan April 21, 2021. (Reuters)
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Taliban Capture Northern Afghan District Amid Surge in Violence

An Afghan National Army soldier sits on a back of an army vehicle at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan April 21, 2021. (Reuters)
An Afghan National Army soldier sits on a back of an army vehicle at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan April 21, 2021. (Reuters)

Taliban insurgents captured a district in northern Afghanistan, forcing government troops to retreat to the provincial capital amid a recent surge in violence, officials said on Wednesday.

Fighting has escalated sharply in recent weeks, with Afghan officials saying the Taliban have stepped up their attacks since Washington announced plans last month to pull out all US troops by Sept. 11.

The militants seized the district of Barka in the northern province of Baghlan after hours of fighting with Afghan forces, who retreated to the main city, said Jawed Basharat, a spokesman for the provincial police.

The Taliban suffered heavy losses in the fighting, he added, but a senior security official who sought anonymity said at least 10 security forces were killed and 16 others captured by the Taliban.

The district fell a day after Afghan security forces fought back a major Taliban offensive in the southern province of Helmand.

The Afghan government says it has recorded more than 100 Taliban attacks on security forces and other government installations in 26 of the 34 provinces over the last 24 hours.

The Taliban overran a small outpost on a highway in Baghlan, killing nine Afghan soldiers and wounding several, regional officials said on Tuesday.

Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said one person was killed and three wounded when a roadside bomb hit a vehicle belonging to a health official outside the city.

Another roadside bomb killed a district police commander in the southeastern province of Paktika on Tuesday, officials said.

Although the United States missed a May 1 withdrawal deadline agreed in talks with the Taliban last year, its pull-out has begun.

Critics of President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw say the militants will try to sweep back into power.

The hardline group now holds sway over more territory than at any point since its ouster by US-led troops after the attacks of Sept. 11 on the United States in 2001.



US Says Russia Received Missiles from Iran, Piles on Sanctions

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during the joining ceremony of ballistic missiles to the Armed Forces, in Tehran, Iran, August 22, 2023. Iran's Presidency/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during the joining ceremony of ballistic missiles to the Armed Forces, in Tehran, Iran, August 22, 2023. Iran's Presidency/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
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US Says Russia Received Missiles from Iran, Piles on Sanctions

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during the joining ceremony of ballistic missiles to the Armed Forces, in Tehran, Iran, August 22, 2023. Iran's Presidency/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during the joining ceremony of ballistic missiles to the Armed Forces, in Tehran, Iran, August 22, 2023. Iran's Presidency/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters

Russia has received ballistic missiles from Iran and will likely use them in Ukraine within weeks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday, warning that cooperation between Moscow and Tehran threatens wider European security.

At a news conference in London ahead of a visit to Kyiv he and Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy will make, Blinken said Washington had privately warned Iran that providing ballistic missiles to Russia would be "a dramatic escalation" and said new sanctions would be imposed later on Tuesday.

"Russia has now received shipments with these ballistic missiles, and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine, against Ukraine," Blinken said, citing intelligence that he said has been shared with US allies and partners around the world.

The US later identified nine Russian-flagged vessels it said were involved in the delivery of weapons from Iran to Russia, designating them as "blocked property" under Washington's sanctions regime, according to the Treasury Department's website.

It also imposed additional measures on previously sanctioned airline Iran Air, the department said in a statement.

Ukraine said on Tuesday it would review its options and could even cut relations with Iran if Russia used ballistic missiles supplied by Iran to attack targets in Ukraine.

"I will not say now exactly what is meant by devastating consequences, so as not to weaken our diplomatic position. But I can say that all options, including the one you mentioned, are on the table," foreign ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi said, when asked if Kyiv could cut ties with Tehran.

Blinken said Iran has trained dozens of Russian military personnel to use its Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, which has a maximum range of 75 miles (121 km).

Russian defense ministry representatives are believed to have signed a contract in December with Iranian officials for the Fath-360 and another Iranian ballistic missile system, Reuters reported last month.

Iran has previously supplied Shahed drones used by Russia in Ukraine, but has denied that it is supplying Russia with ballistic missiles. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani on Tuesday said on X that Iran views the reports as "ugly propaganda" to conceal Western military support to Israel.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to confirm the reports but told reporters Russia was cooperating with Iran including on "the most sensitive" areas.

After 2-1/2 years of war, Ukrainian forces now find themselves stretched, fending off a steady Russian advance in Ukraine's east. Last month Kyiv sent troops into Russia on their first large-scale cross-border incursion.

The Iranian missiles can be used on closer targets, allowing Russia to use more of its own arsenal for targets that are further from the front line in Ukraine, Blinken said.

"This development and the growing cooperation between Russia and Iran threatens European security and demonstrates how Iran's destabilizing influence reaches far beyond the Middle East."

Russia, which previously signed up to United Nations restrictions on Iran, was also sharing technology sought by Tehran, he added. "This is a two-way street, including on nuclear issues as well as some space information," Blinken said.

MORE SANCTIONS

Iran is already one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world, and some experts have questioned the benefit of adding more economic penalties that can hurt the middle class more than the country's leaders.

The Treasury and the State Department imposed sanctions on 10 individuals and nine entities based in Iran and Russia, the Treasury said.

The sanctions freeze any US assets held by those targeted, denying them access, and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.

France, Germany and Britain also issued a joint statement condemning Iran and Russia for what they called an escalation, and pledging to impose sanctions on Iran Air and cancel air services agreements with Iran.

Britain announced seven new sanctions designations under its Iran sanctions regime and three under its Russia regime.

Ukraine welcomed further sanctions on Iran over the missiles.

Presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak reiterated that Kyiv was seeking Washington's permission to use US-supplied weapons deeper inside Russia.

The Biden administration earlier this year relaxed a policy that barred Ukraine from using US-supplied weapons in attacks on targets inside Russia, but officials said those arms were only to be used to hit back against Russian forces attacking or preparing to attack across the border.

"We also need authorization to use Western weapons against military targets on Russian territory, the provision of longer-range missiles, and the enhancement of our air defense systems," Yermak said on X.

Blinken said he would use his visit to Ukraine on Wednesday to hear directly from Ukraine's leadership what their current needs and objectives are and what the US can do to help them.

Blinken and Lammy will visit together in a bid to show united Western support for Kyiv. Blinken will also visit Poland on Thursday, the State Department said.