Taliban Capture Major City In Northern Afghanistan, Draw Closer To Kabul

The fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, confirmed by a provincial council official, was another major capture for the hardline militants, who have swept through the country in recent weeks as US-led forces withdrew.

Taliban forces captured a major city in northern Afghanistan on Saturday, sending Afghan forces fleeing, and drew closer to Kabul, where Western countries scrambled to evacuate their citizens from the capital. The fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, confirmed by a provincial council official, was another major capture for the hardline militants, who have swept through the country in recent weeks as US-led forces withdrew. The United States and Britain are now rushing several thousand troops back into the country to evacuate citizens amid concern Kabul could soon be overrun. Security forces from Mazar-i-Sharif were escaping towards the border, Afzal Hadid, head of the Balkh provincial council, told Reuters.