Fear and resentment reign in Afghanistan as the Taliban overruns more cities

In less than a week, the Taliban has overrun one-quarter of Afghanistan's provincial capitals in a huge swathe of territory across the north of the country. The security situation here is unravelling faster than almost anyone expected -- with the possible exception of the Taliban themselves.

Nine provincial capitals have now fallen to the insurgent group -- in several cases with minimal resistance from the Afghan security forces. The Taliban now control territory they were unable to subdue when they were in power between 1996 and 2001. CNN saw a graphic example of how low morale is among some army units on a visit to the city of Ghazni, three hours from Kabul. A group of soldiers who had been under fire from Taliban snipers simply ran from their base, flagged down a passing car and left.