Taliban's Influence Expands Into Northern Afghanistan

The Taliban's influence in the northern Afghanistan has expanded in the recent months from a few hotspots to much of the region, as insurgents respond to the U.S.-led coalition's surge in the south by seizing the new ground in the areas once considered secure.

Taliban militants stop traffic nightly at the checkpoints on the road from Kabul to Uzbekistan, just outside the Baghlan province's capital city of the Pul-e-Khumri, frequently blowing up fuel convoys and seizing travelers who work with the government or the international community.

In many areas here and the rest of the north, the Taliban have effectively supplanted the official authorities, running with local administrations and courts, and conscripting recruits.

"Day by day, the Taliban are advancing into new districts," said provincial council chief Mohammad Rasoul Mohseni of Baghlan.

Such advances challenge the coalition strategy that assumes Taliban losses in its southern heartland would undermine the entire insurgency, driving the militants to pursue peace on terms acceptable to the West.