Taliban retake 10th Afghan provincial capital

The Taliban has retaken a provincial capital near Kabul, making it the 10th the freedom fighters have taken over a weeklong blitz across Afghanistan

The group raised their white flags imprinted with the kalima over the city of Ghazni, just 130 kilometers southwest of Kabul.

Sporadic fighting continued at an intelligence base and an army installation outside the city.

The Taliban published videos and images online showing them in Ghazni, the capital of Ghazni province.

While the capital of Kabul itself has not been directly threatened in the advance, the stunning speed of the offensive raises questions of how long the Afghan government can maintain control of the slivers of the country it has left.

The government may eventually be forced to pull back to defend the capital and just a few other cities.

The loss of Ghazni marks yet another strategic setback for Afghan government forces. Ghazni sits along the Kabul-Kandahar Highway, a major road that connects the Afghan capital to the country’s southern provinces. That could complicate resupply and movement for government forces, as well as squeeze the capital from the south.

Adapted : AP News