August 09, 2021
The Taliban have made massive territorial gains in Afghanistan since the Biden administration announced that it would withdraw all US forces by September of this year. In many instances, Afghan security forces have abandoned their bases and handed over territory rather than confront Taliban fighters directly. Recently, Taliban militants gained control of major crossings, including the Islam Qala crossing between Afghanistan and Iran, which generates $20 million in monthly revenue for the Afghan government, as well as the critical Wesh-Chaman border crossing with Pakistan. With the US withdrawal already more than 90 percent complete, the Taliban already control more than half of all Afghan districts. So as the last few US forces prepare to leave, we take a look at who controls what in Afghanistan. Spoiler: it's a significantly different state of play from when we last mapped it out two years ago.
From Your Site Articles
- Taliban takeover embarrassing for Biden; political impact of wildfires - GZERO Media ›
- What does a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan actually mean? - GZERO Media ›
- The US can advance democracy without being the world's sheriff - GZERO Media ›
- The fallout from US Afghanistan withdrawal: a Marine's perspective - GZERO Media ›
- US Afghanistan withdrawal: a “digital Dunkirk” - GZERO Media ›
- Petraeus on the Afghanistan crisis - GZERO Media ›
More For You
Most Popular
People gather outside the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport to decry President Trump's travel ban on 19 countries which went into effect this morning.
5: US President Donald Trump added five new countries – Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria – to the list of nations banned from traveling to the US.
US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finland's President Alexander Stubb, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose for a family photo amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, on August 18, 2025.
REUTERS/Alexander Drago
With the release of its National Security Strategy, the Trump administration has telegraphed how the US intends to engage with allies, and what it expects from them.
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.