Afghans Say Taliban Are Nearing Control Of Key District -- New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — Local Afghan officials say more than 200 police officers and soldiers have been killed during a fierce Taliban offensive in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan that has lasted all summer and now threatens to overwhelm a key district.

Officials at the national level have played down the violence and even, in some cases, flatly denied that there is a problem. But local military, police and government officials, including two Afghan generals, have said in recent days that they are unsure their forces can continue to hold out against the offensive, which has been underway since June in the Sangin district in northern Helmand and more recently in neighboring Musa Qala, unless they get more support from national authorities and international forces.

The authorities are particularly worried about Musa Qala, a traditional Taliban stronghold and a source of revenue from the lucrative opium poppy trade.

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My Comment: U.S. and NATO forces kept the Taliban at bay in this region for years .... they are now gone .... and it is appears that the Afghan Army is not capable of keeping the Taliban out. If the Afghan military loses this region, it will be a huge strategic victory for the Taliban, and it will be used as a launching pad to attack the other regions of Afghanistan.