Taliban capture Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan's fourth largest city

The Taliban have made major advances in recent days, including capturing Herat and Kandahar, the country's second- and third-largest cities.

Mazar-e-Sharif, the fourth-largest city in Afghanistan, fell to the Taliban on Saturday after a multipronged assault launched by insurgents, according to a lawmaker. Balkh lawmaker Abas Ebrahimzada said the province's national army corps surrendered first, which prompted the pro-government militias and other forces to lose morale and give up in the face of the onslaught.