Taliban seize most of key northern Afghan city

Provincial Afghan lawmakers say the Taliban have taken control of another provincial capital, the fourth to fall into insurgent hands in less than a week, in a punishing blow to government forces.

Kabul (Afghanistan):Provincial Afghan lawmakers say the Taliban have taken control of another provincial capital, the fourth to fall into insurgent hands in less than a week, in a punishing blow to government forces.

The Taliban forces overran Taleqan, the capital of the northern Takhar province on Sunday, capturing the final areas it hadn't previously controlled after a monthslong siege, the two lawmakers from the province said. Takhar has particular significance for the anti-Taliban northern alliance fighters who joined the U.S.-led coalition to oust the religious militia in 2001.

Earlier, in the day Taliban fighters seized most of the capital of northern Afghanistan’s key Kunduz province and won a monthslong siege of a neighbouring provincial capital — the latest in a series of blows to government forces as U.S. troops complete their pullout after two decades in the country.

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Two provincial council members said the Taliban took control of the governor’s office and police headquarters after a day of firefights, as well as the main prison building, where 500 inmates including Taliban fighters were freed.

If Kunduz, the capital of the province of the same name, falls, it would be a significant gain for the Taliban and a test of their ability to take and retain territory in their campaign against the Western-backed government. It is one of the country’s larger cities with a population of more than 340,000 and was a key area defended against Taliban takeover by Western troops over the years.

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(AP)