The Taliban has captured two more cities in Afghanistan, taking the number of provincial capitals the group has seized since last Friday to eight.
On Tuesday, local sources confirmed the capture of both provincial capitals to reporters noting that Farah city of the eponymous southwestern province and Pul-e-Khumri of the northern province of Baghlan both fell to the armed group on Tuesday.
‘This afternoon the Taliban entered the city of Farah after briefly fighting with the security forces. They have captured the governor’s office and police headquarters,’ Shahla Abubar, a member of Farah’s provincial council, told reporters.
The Taliban has captured the province’s central prison, according to parliamentarian Abdul Nasri Farahi.
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Farah is now the second provincial city in the southwest of Afghanistan that the group has taken. On Friday, the Taliban captured neighbouring Nimruz province.
The capture of Farah also provides another border crossing into Iran for the group.
Abubar said local security forces had retreated towards an army base outside the city.
On Tuesday, the Taliban captured Pul-e-Khumri, capital of Baghlan province and about 200km (125 miles) north of Kabul, a member of parliament from the area and an army officer told reporters.
‘After about two hours of fighting the security forces were overpowered and retreated,’ said Mamoor Ahmadzai, the lawmaker.
The capture of Pul-e-Khumri gave the Taliban a trifecta of bordering northern provinces.
Africa Daily News, New York had earlier this week reported that the Taliban captured Kunduz and Takhar.
The new capture now gives them control of almost the entire 378-km road from Kabul to the northeastern province of Badakhshan. That road is a major transit hub for passenger and commercial vehicles and the transport of illicit goods, including narcotics.
The Taliban have captured seven out of 34 provincial capitals in the country in less than a week.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
