Taliban seizes 10th provincial capital

Militants raised the Taliban’s white flag over the city of Ghazni, just 80 miles southwest of the Afghan capital of Kabul. Sporadic fighting continued at an intelligence base and an army installation outside the city, according to two local officials. In an offensive that began last week, the Taliban has so far seized nine other provincial capitals mostly in the north.

How are other regions faring? In the southern provincial capital city of Lashkar Gah, several Afghanistan officers inside the regional police headquarters surrendered to Taliban fighters on Thursday. Others fled to the nearby governor’s office, which is still under government control. The Taliban hit the building with a suicide car bomb on Wednesday in its weeks-long battle to seize the city. The insurgents ramped up the attacks as the United States plans to complete its withdrawal by the end of the month.

Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s report about the threats facing the Afghan people as U.S. troops withdraw.