Taliban Fighters Capture Eighth Provincial Capital, Official Says 

KABUL - Taliban fighters took control of another city in northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, an official said, the eighth provincial capital to fall to the insurgents in six days as U.S.-led foreign forces complete their withdrawal. 

The Taliban capture of Faizabad, the capital of the northeastern province of Badakhshan, came as President Ashraf Ghani landed in Mazar-i-Sharif to rally its defenders as Taliban forces closed in on the biggest city in the north.  After a long battle in Faizabad, government forces retreated to a neighboring district, Jawad Mujadidi, a provincial council member from Badakhshan, told Reuters.  He said Taliban fighters had taken most of the province and laid siege to Faizabad before launching an offensive Tuesday.