Taliban Capture Afghan Cities Lashkar Gah, Kandahar In Rapid Advance

The Taliban claimed Friday to have captured Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city, which would leave just the capital and pockets of other territory in the government's hands.

The Taliban have captured the key southern city of Lashkar Gah, a senior Afghan security source told AFP on Friday, confirming a claim by the insurgents. Military and government officials had evacuated the city after striking a deal with the militants, the security source told AFP. The Taliban claimed Friday to have captured Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city, which would leave just the capital and pockets of other territory in the government's hands. "Kandahar is completely conquered. The Mujahideen reached Martyrs' Square in the city," a Taliban spokesman tweeted on an officially recognised account -- a claim backed by a resident, who told AFP government forces appeared to have withdrawn en masse to a military facility outside the city.