Jihadi Leader Mohammad Ismail Khan has created a “public resistance movement” after the Taliban militants captured several districts including two key border towns in western Herat province.

Dozens of civilians and fighters aligned with the prominent anti-Taliban commander gathered at a ceremony in Herat and picked up arms with plans to fight.

Mohammad Ismail Khan said he would support efforts by Afghan forces to claw back control of parts of western Afghanistan, including a border crossing with Iran. Khan, a former minister and a survivor of a Taliban attack in 2009, was a leading member of the Northern Alliance whose militia helped U.S. forces topple the Taliban in 2001.

This comes after the Taliban captured six districts including the Islam Qala border and the Torghundi border towns, two trade gateways to Iran and Turkmenistan, of the province in the last 24 hours.

“We will soon go [for the Taliban to the frontlines] in the city and all western zone with the help of God change the situation,” Ismail Khan told his supporters.

Afghan security personnel increased checkpoints in and around the provincial capital of Herat on Friday. Ismail Khan has also stated that public uprising forces have been deployed at 15 positions to fight against the Taliban alongside the Afghan security and defense forces (ANSDF).

Meanwhile, the Taliban militants have also captured the key Abu Nasr Farahi port, bordering with Iran, in Farah province, Provincial Governor Masoud Bakhtawar confirmed Friday.

The Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment (HCCI) stated that transportations via the ports have been stopped.

“Both the Torghundi and the Islam Qala have been captured by the Taliban and all imports and exports that we had yesterday are now have been stopped,” said Hamidullah Khadim, Chairman of Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines.

Herat officials, however, stated that they were mobilizing forces and will launch a clearance operation as soon as possible.

“Reinforcement, mobilizing people [public uprising forces], and launch of military operations to the clear area from the Taliban have been started,” said Jilani Farhad, a spokesman for the provincial governor. 

According to the reports, so far, at least 15 districts of western Herat province were fallen to the Taliban.

In the last week, the Taliban have overrun areas bordering five countries – Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China, and Pakistan – as foreign forces end their two-decade intervention and the domestic security situation deteriorates.

The insurgents have been gaining territory for weeks but accelerated their thrust as the United States vacated its main Afghan base, effectively ending an intervention that began with the ousting of the Islamist Taliban government in 2001.