The Taliban captured the strategic border crossing of Spin Boldak on the frontier with Pakistan on Wednesday, continuing sweeping gains made since foreign forces stepped up their withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry denied the insurgents had taken the area even as social media was flooded with pictures of Taliban fighters relaxing in the frontier town.
Residents also told AFP it was in the Taliban's hands.
Spin Boldak is the latest in a string of border crossings and dry ports seized by the Taliban in recent weeks, with the insurgents looking to choke off much-needed revenue from the government in Kabul while also filling their own coffers.
Heavy fighting
The seizure of the border crossing follows days of heavy fighting across Kandahar province, where the government was forced to deploy commando fighters to prevent the fall of the provincial capital even as the insurgents inched closer to taking the frontier.
In a statement, insurgent spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid assured traders and residents there that their “security is guaranteed”.
But Afghan officials insisted they were still in control.
“The terrorist Taliban had some movements near the border area... The security forces have repelled the attack,” Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said.
Strategic value
Residents disputed the government’s claims, however.
The border crossing is one of the most strategically valuable for the Taliban. It provides direct access to Pakistan’s Balochistan province — where the insurgents’ top leadership has been based for decades — along with an unknown number of reserve fighters who regularly enter Afghanistan to help bolster their ranks.
Hours after the crossing fell, an AFP reporter on the Pakistani side saw around 150 Taliban fighters riding on motorcycles, waving insurgent flags, as they demanded to be allowed to cross into Afghanistan.
Balochistan is a favoured destination for fighters regularly heading for medical treatment and hosts many of their families.
A major highway leading from the border connects to Pakistan’s commercial capital Karachi and its sprawling port on the Arabian Sea, which is considered a linchpin for Afghanistan's billion-dollar heroin trade that has provided a crucial source of revenue for the Taliban's war chest over the years.
