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Badakhshan province’s capital Faizabad becomes the ninth Afghan city to be captured by the Taliban since Friday.
The Taliban armed group has now taken more than a quarter of Afghanistan’s provincial capitals in less than a week.
The group has captured nine provincial capitals in Afghanistan since Friday, including Faizabad, Farah, Pul-e-Khumri, Sar-e-Pul, Sheberghan, Aybak, Kunduz, Taluqan and Zaranj.
The Taliban has already gained vast parts of rural Afghanistan since launching a series of offensives in May to coincide with the start of the final withdrawal of foreign forces.
Here are the latest developments:
‘Hundreds’ of soldiers surrender near Kunduz: lawmaker
Hundreds of Afghan soldiers who retreated to the airport outside Kunduz after the Taliban captured the northern city at the weekend have surrendered, a local lawmaker tells the AFP news agency.
Amruddin Wali, a member of the Kunduz provincial council, says soldiers, police and uprising forces “surrendered to the Taliban with all their military gear”.
Taliban in control of Kunduz airport: local sources
Local sources in Kunduz confirm Taliban reports that they have taken the provincial airport and that members of the Afghan National Security Forces have surrendered to the group, Al Jazeera’s Ali M Latifi reports from Kabul.
“Since the province fell on Sunday, the airport had been the only part of the province that the Taliban had not yet taken control of,” he says.
Taliban take control of northern Afghan borders: Russia
Taliban fighters have taken control of Afghanistan’s borders with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Russia’s Kommersant daily reports, citing Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, heightening security concerns for Moscow.
Shoigu says the Taliban has promised not to cross the border, but that Moscow will continue holding joint drills with its allies in the region.
Russia operates a military base in Tajikistan and the former Soviet republic is a member of a Moscow-led military bloc, meaning that Moscow would be obliged to protect it in the event of invasion. Uzbekistan also has close ties with Russia.
Uncertainty dominates second day of Doha talks
Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from Doha, says it is so far unclear what the agenda is on the second day of Afghanistan talks held in the Qatari capital.
“At the end last night, after a long day of talks some of the diplomats in attendance indicated that perhaps today there might be a meeting of the extended Troika countries – that’s Russia, the US, China and Pakistan – on the sidelines of these international meeting regarding peace in Afghanistan,” he says.
Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Farah, the capital of Farah province [Mohammad Asif Khan/AP]“The extended Troika that is a Moscow-initiated group that meets and consults on ways to try and support inter-Afghan peace talks.”
He also says that it is hard to say if the meeting actually happens, because Russia did not attend the first day of talks.
“It was unclear why they didn’t show up, but it is expected that it will play a part today,” he says
Taliban claim firing rockets into Bagram airbase
The Taliban claim to have fired rockets into the Bagram airbase located north of Kabul.
An official at the airbase has said the rockets did not reach the base, landing instead in far off areas, according to Al Jazeera’s Ali M Latifi, reporting from Kabul.
Ninth Afghan provincial capital falls to Taliban
Badakhshan province’s capital Faizabad is the latest to fall to the Taliban.
Zabihullah Attiq, a local lawmaker, tells the AFP news agency that security forces had retreated from the city after days of heavy clashes.
“The Taliban have captured the city now,” he says.
Three more provincial capitals fall to Taliban: Officials
Afghan officials say three more provincial capitals have fallen to the Taliban since Tuesday, putting nine of the country’s 34 in the armed group’s hands amid the US withdrawal.
The officials tells The Associated Press that the capitals of Badakhshan, Baghlan and Farah provinces all fell – Faizabad, Pul-e-Khumri and Farah respectively.
The Afghan government and military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
President Ghani flies into Mazar-i-Sharif
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flies to the besieged northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif to rally his beleaguered forces, with Taliban fighters having now taken more than a quarter of the country’s provincial capitals in less than a week.
He plans “to check the general security in the northern zone”, according to a statement released by the palace.
The Afghan leader is also likely to hold talks with Mazar-i-Sharif’s longtime strongman Atta Mohammad Noor and infamous militia leader Abdul Rashid Dostum about the defence of the city as Taliban fighters inch closer to its outskirts.
The loss of Mazar-i-Sharif would be a catastrophic blow to the Kabul government and represent the complete collapse of its control over the north – long a bastion of anti-Taliban militias.
