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The offensive of armed groups caused the government to control only seven provincial capitals and Kabul.
The Taliban occupied Jalalabad, an important city in eastern Afghanistan without fighting, and secured the main road connecting the country with Pakistan.
Jalalabad fell on Sunday morning, and the Afghan central government only controlled Kabul and the other seven of the country’s 34 provincial capitals.
The occupation of Jalalabad (estimated population over 280,000) and other areas of Nangarhar Province gave the Taliban control of the Tolkam border crossing, the largest trade and transit route between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In the national offensive in the past week, despite the U.S. military provided some air support, the Taliban defeated, wooed or dispatched Afghan security forces to flee large areas of the country.
Here are all the latest updates:
The Taliban occupy the capital of Afghanistan west of Kabul
An Afghan parliamentarian and Taliban said that militants had occupied a provincial capital in western Kabul.
The Taliban captured Maidan Shaar, the capital of Maidan Wardak Province, on Sunday. It is about 90 kilometers (55 miles) from the national capital of Kabul.
Taliban-occupied area of ​​Kabul
After occupying Nangarhar and Laghman provinces overnight, the Taliban occupied the Sarobi district, an hour’s drive east of the capital. It marked the first area occupied by armed groups in Kabul Province.
Taliban controls Nangarhar
A source in the eastern province of Nangarhar confirmed to Al Jazeera that the capital, Jalalabad, has been handed over to the Taliban as part of an agreement between the local elder and governor Zia-ul Haq Amarkhil and armed groups to protect the Taliban. civilian.
Nangarhar was the 23rd occupied province, and Jalalabad was the last major city occupied by the Taliban after the capital Kabul.
The fall of Jalalabad allowed the group to control the road to the Pakistani city of Peshawar, which is one of the main roads to inland Afghanistan.
A security official in the city said that the Taliban had agreed to allow government officials and security forces to pass safely when they left Jalalabad.
U.S. begins to withdraw from the embassy in Kabul
Two American officials told Reuters that the United States had begun to evacuate diplomats from its embassy in Kabul. When the diplomatic vehicle left the compound, the helicopter landed there.
“We have a small group of people leaving now, and most of the staff are going to leave… the embassy continues to operate,” said one of the officials, who asked not to be named.
When a puff of smoke rose from the roof of the embassy, ​​the helicopter shuttled quickly. US officials have previously stated that internal diplomats have begun destroying sensitive documents.
Taliban captures Daikondi
Dekondi in the central province has fallen into the hands of the Taliban, a political representative of the province told Al Jazeera. As of Sunday morning, at least 23 provinces are now under Taliban control.
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