Three more Afghan provincial capitals fall to Taliban

Taliban fighters are seen inside the city of Farah, capital of Farah province southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asif Khan)

The Taliban have seized three more provincial capitals in Afghanistan, officials said, putting nine of the nation’s 34 in the insurgents’ hands amid the US withdrawal from the country.

The fall of the capitals of Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces to the north east and Farah to the west put increasing pressure on the country’s central government to stem the tide of the advance.