US B-52 Stratofortress bombers launched airstrikes on the Taliban forces in the capital of the Jawzjan province, Sheberghan, in northern Afghanistan, inflicting significant damage to the militants, Afghan defense ministry spokesman Fawad Aman said on Saturday.
"Taliban's gathering was targeted by B-52 in #Shebergan city, Jawzjan province today evening at 6:30pm [14:00 GMT]. The #terrorists have suffered heavy casualties as a result of US Air Forces #airstrike," Aman tweeted, according to Sputnik.
Earlier in the day, The Times reported that the US had dispatched B-52 bombers and Spectre gunships to Afghanistan to suppress the territorial advances of the Taliban in the provinces of Kandahar, Herat, Lashkargah, and Helmand.
On Saturday, the Taliban announced that they seized the southwestern province of Nimruz and the northern province of Jawzjan. The capital of Nimruz, Zaranj, became the first provincial center the terrorist movement captured since 2016.
Afghanistan is seeing a spike in violence now as the Taliban have stepped up their offensive after international troops started a gradual withdrawal from the country, scheduled to be completed by September 11. The pullout was stipulated in the agreement the Taliban and the United States signed in Doha in February 2020.
MAH/PR