Taliban capture eighth provincial capital in six days

Taliban militants took control of another city in northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, an official said, the eighth provincial capital to fall to the insurgents in six days as U.S.-led foreign forces complete their withdrawal.

The Taliban capture of Faizabad – the capital of the northeastern province of Badakhshan – came as President Ashraf Ghani landed in Mazar-i-Sharif to rally its defenders as Taliban forces closed in on the biggest city in the north.

After a long battle in Faizabad, government forces retreated to a neighbouring district, Jawad Mujadidi, a provincial council member from Badakhshan, told Reuters.

He said Taliban fighters had taken most of the province and laid siege to Faizabad before launching an offensive on Tuesday.

The far northeastern province of Badakhshan borders Tajikistan, Pakistan and China.