Around 4,000 Afghan soldiers killed in July, August ahead of Taliban takeover of Kabul: Report

Kabul [Afghanistan], December 30 : About 4,000 Afghan soldiers were killed and 1,000 others went missing between July 1 and August 15 ahead of the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Washington Post reported, citing Yasin Zia, the former chief of staff of the Afghan military.
The report said that weeks before the Taliban takeover were the deadliest period for the Afghan military since 2000.
The Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15, causing the US-backed government to step down.
Later in September, the outfit announced the composition of the new "interim government" of Afghanistan.
The Taliban regime faces the challenge of getting recognition.
No country has yet recognized the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Ghulam Isaczai, who had been appointed Afghanistan's envoy to the UN by the ousted President Ashraf Ghani and remained at the position even after the Taliban takeover, had resigned.
In September, the Taliban addressed the UN, informing them that Isaczai's mission had been completed and "he no longer represents Afghanistan."
The Taliban had further informed the United Nations that Shaheen had been nominated as Afghanistan's permanent representative to the UN and requested they proceed with his approval.
Isaczai has repeatedly criticized the Taliban after their seizure of power in Afghanistan.
The country has been battered by the deepening economic, humanitarian, and security crisis following the Taliban takeover.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had last month warned that around 3.2 million children were likely to suffer from acute malnutrition in Afghanistan by the end of the year -- one million of whom were at risk of dying as temperatures drop.