People displaced by the Taliban advance are flooding into Kabul to escape the Taliban takeover of their provinces. Photo: Getty ImagesTaliban insurgents have seized Afghanistan's second- and third-biggest cities, local officials say, as resistance from government forces crumbled and fears grew that an assault on the capital Kabul could be just days away. Of Afghanistan's major cities, the government still holds Mazar-i-Sharif in the north and Jalalabad, near the Pakistani border in the east, in addition to Kabul. The Taliban has taken the towns of Lashkar Gah in the south and Qala-e-Naw in the northwest, security officials said. Al-Jazeera later reported Khan had boarded a plane to Kabul bearing a message from the Taliban.

Source: Otago Daily Times August 14, 2021 00:56 UTC