Afghan army's Commandos Forces patrol in Kod-Barq area of Dehdadi district, Balkh province, Afghanistan, on Monday Aug 9, 2021.
Civilian casualties have skyrocketed.
Nearly 2,400 civilians have been killed or injured between May 1 and June 30, according to a United Nations report released last month, the highest number recorded for that period since monitoring began in 2009.
One official acknowledged to U.S reporters that with only 650 American troops remaining on the ground in Afghanistan, a concerted air campaign was unlikely to undo the advances the Taliban had made.
Although the American military mission will formally conclude at the end of this month, American troops and their Western allies are mostly gone already.
VIDEO COURTESY: AFGHAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
