Panic, Disbelief in Kabul as More Cities Fall to Taliban

The Taliban's offensive in Afghanistan continued with terrifying speed Friday, with another three provincial capitals falling to the militants. Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province, was under Taliban control Friday after weeks of heavy fighting. Lawmakers in Uruzgat and Zabul provinces say their capitals have fallen to the Taliban, with leaders fleeing to Kabul or military bases. The group has now seized 18 of Afghanistan's 34 provincial capitals in a week, completing its sweep of the south of the country and putting increasing pressure on Kabul, the AP reports. Kandahar and Herat—the country's second and third-largest cities—were captured Thursday. More:

• Government forces "close to collapse." The New York Times reports that Afghanistan's government forces now appear "close to a complete collapse." US officials have warned the government could fall in 30 to 90 days, though some fear that even that timeline could be optimistic.

• US is sending 3,000 troops. Pentagon officials confirmed Thursday that 3,000 troops—three infantry battalions from the Marines and Army—are being sent to Afghanistan to help evacuate embassy personnel and Afghans who received special visas after working with the US, CNBC reports. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby called it a "very narrowly focused mission" and said the US still plans to have all troops out of the country by Aug. 31.
• UK sends reinforcements. The UK says it is sending 600 troops to help evacuate diplomats and is relocating its embassy to a safer area near the center of Kabul, the Guardian reports. Canada and other Western countries have also stepped up plans to evacuate personnel.
• Disbelief and panic in Kabul. BBC correspondent Yogita Limaye says thousands of people fleeing the Taliban onslaught have arrived in Kabul in recent days. " People are in disbelief about what's happened in a single day," she says. "Some of them have taken days, and these are dangerous journeys —past Taliban checkpoints and active frontlines—to get to Kabul. This is the last place many of them believe they can go to. They say, from here where else do we run?"
• McConnell likens situation to fall of Saigon. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called for the Biden administration to provide more support for Afghan forces, including air support beyond Aug. 31, the Washington Post reports. "The latest news of a further drawdown at our Embassy and a hasty deployment of military forces seem like preparations for the fall of Kabul," the Republican said. "President Biden’s decisions have us hurtling toward an even worse sequel to the humiliating fall of Saigon in 1975."
• "Taliban 2.0." The CBC looks at how the Taliban changed from the fractured force of as little as two years ago to today's well-organized insurgency. Sean Maloney, a history professor who has advised the Canadian military, says there was clearly "external support," with foreign fighters believed to make up around 40% of the "New Taliban." He notes that some of the tribes who could have countered the Taliban have declared themselves neutral, apparently after long negotiations. "They had to do months of preparation to get some of that," he says.

(More Afghanistan stories.)