Lashkargah
لشکرگاه Bost | |
|---|---|
City | |
.jpg)     From top, left to right: Ghaznavid fortress of Qala-e-Kohna; Sunset over the Helmand River; Lashkargah Mosque; Lashkargah streets; Mirwais Nika Park. | |
  Lashkargah Location in Afghanistan  Lashkargah Lashkargah (West and Central Asia) | |
| Coordinates: 31°34′59″N 64°22′9″E / 31.58306°N 64.36917°E | |
| Country |  Afghanistan |
| Province | Helmand Province |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Matiullah Baheer |
| Area | |
| • Land | 384 km2 (148 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 773 m (2,536 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
• City | 201,546 |
| • Urban | 276,831[1] |
| [2] | |
| Time zone | UTC+4:30 |
| Climate | BWh |
| Website | www |
Lashkargāh (Pashto: لښکرګاه; Persian: لشکرگاه), historically called Bost or Boost (بست، بوست), is a city in southwestern Afghanistan and the capital of Helmand Province. It is located in Lashkargah District, where the Arghandab River merges into the Helmand River. The city has a population of 201,546 as of 2006.[2] Lashkargah is linked by major roads with Kandahar to the east, Zaranj on the border with Iran to the west, and Farah and Herat to the north-west. It is mostly very arid and desolate. However, farming does exist around the Helmand and Arghandab rivers. Bost Airport is located on the east bank of the Helmand River, five miles north of the junction of the Helmand and Arghandab rivers. Because of the trading hubs, it is Afghanistan's second largest city in size, after Kabul and before Kandahar.
After several weeks of fighting in the Battle of Lashkargah, the city was captured by the Taliban on 13 August 2021, becoming the fourteenth provincial capital to be seized by the Taliban as part of the wider 2021 Taliban offensive.[3]
- ^ "The State of Afghan Cities report2015". Archived from the original on 31 October 2015.
- ^ a b "B. Demography and Population" (PDF). United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook 2006, Central Statistics Office. Afghanistan's Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Birsel, Robert (13 August 2021). "Taliban capture Afghanistan's Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand - police official". Reuters. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.