Taliban continues rapid advance; captures key city of Jalalabad

The armed group’s offensive leaves the government in control of just seven provincial capitals and Kabul.

The Taliban raced closer to a complete military takeover of Afghanistan on Sunday after capturing more major cities, leaving only the isolated capital Kabul for the armed group to conquer. The Taliban seized Afghanistan’s key eastern city of Jalalabad without a fight, securing key roads connecting the country to Pakistan. The fall of Jalalabad on Sunday morning leaves Afghanistan’s central government in control of just Kabul and seven other provincial capitals out of the country’s 34.