Taliban captures sixth Afghan provincial capital as govt forces reel

The Taliban seized near total control over another provincial capital in northern Afghanistan on Monday, local and security officials said, a day after the insurgent group took three others, including the strategic and economically important city of Kunduz.
 
It is the sixth provincial capital to have fallen in a matter of days as Taliban forces, emboldened by the departure of U.S. troops from the country, have sped up their campaign across Afghanistan.
 
Fighting on the outskirts of Aybak, the capital of Samangan Province, began on Monday morning as the Taliban pushed into the city, having toppled a nearby