Taliban expands its control to 11 Afghan provinces

Afghan sources said that 11 new districts fell to the Taliban terrorist movement during the past two days, at a time when the Afghan army chief pledged to restore those areas and days after Afghan officials announced the fall of dozens of provinces across the country to the movement in recent weeks.
The local Tolo News channel quoted unnamed sources as saying that the Taliban had taken control of 11 districts, 7 of them in Badakhshan province, in the north-east of the country.
According to the source, the districts are Maimai, Nosai, Choki, Khohan, Ishaqshim, Shuhada and Yawan in Badakhshan province, Nish and Mianshin districts in Kandahar, Nawa district in Helmand and Shinwari in Parwan.
The newly appointed Afghan army chief, General Wali Muhammad Ahmadzai, acknowledged some shortcomings in protecting remote areas from the militants, and pledged that the top priority was to protect major cities, border towns and highways.