Taliban Threat in Afghanistan Worst Since 2001; Sept. UN Study Shows Taliban Threat as "High"

Newly released UN statistics show the Afghan Taliban is now operating in more of Afghanistan than at any time since 2001, when the U.S. first became involved militarily in the country in order to assist it in fighting terrorism, the Clarion Project website reports today (October 12, 2015).

This data was compiled even before the September 28 fall of Kunduz, the first provincial capital to be under Taliban control since the Taliban were defeated.

In September, UN security officials rated the threat level as "high" or "extreme" in roughly half of Afghanistan's administrative districts. Many others that are ranked have a "substantial" threat level.

In many districts, government loyalists only control government compounds and buildings in the center, with Taliban insurgents holding much of the countryside. One police chief, who has been pinned down for months with 400 police officers, said: "We do not have any way to escape. If we get any means of escaping, I will not stay for a second in the district. The government is failing in their governing, and it's better to let the Taliban rule."