Taliban takes control over five provincial capitals

SANAA, Aug. 09 (YPA) – The Taliban fighters have taken control over more provincial capitals on Monday morning  after, having captured three of them the previous day, including Kunduz.

A few hours later on Sunday, after heavy fighting, the militants captured Kunduz, which they had been besieging for a few weeks, and then took control of Sar-e-Pul and Taloqan in southern and eastern Kunduz.

Zabihullah Hamidi, a resident of Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province, told AFP that the violence began in the morning and the Taliban ended up taking control of the city “without much fighting”, and that officials and security forces fled the city.

A security official confirmed that Afghan forces and local leaders had fled to a nearby area. “The government failed to send us assistance, and we withdrew from the city this afternoon,” he said.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban confirmed  that the group’s control of Taloqan, noting the “return of security” to it and to Kunduz and Sar-e-Pul, which fell to the group in the morning.

E.M