Taliban captures several districts in Afghanistan from fleeing troops

The Taliban captured several districts in northern Afghanistan on Saturday as Afghan troops fled to the neighbouring Tajikistan. The Taliban now control roughly a third of all 421 districts and district centers in Afghanistan.

The Taliban's march through northern Afghanistan gained momentum overnight with the capture of several districts from fleeing Afghan forces, several hundred of whom fled across the border into Tajikistan, officials said on Sunday. More than 300 Afghan military personnel crossed from Afghanistan's Badakhshan province as Taliban fighters advanced toward the border, Tajikistan's State Committee for National Security said in a statement.