Taliban capture Nimroz provincial capital: MP

The Zaranj city of Nimroz province fell to the Taliban on Friday afternoon, sources said.

MP Gul Ahmad Noorzad told Ariana News that the militants have captured key government compounds, including the governor’s office, police headquarters, and Nimroz prison.

He added that currently, the Afghan forces are resisting the insurgent at the provincial National Directorate of Security (NDS) office in the city.

Noorzad noted that the Taliban entered the city without any clash with the Afghan Security and Defense Forces.

The city of Zaranj is the first provincial capital that the Taliban managed to capture as the militants increased offensives across the country.

A spokesperson for Nimroz’s police, who declined to be named for security reasons, has told Reuters that the Taliban had been able to capture the city because of a lack of reinforcements from the government.

Meanwhile, footage released on social media shows that people are looting police stations and Nimroz prison after the Taliban captured parts of the city.

Video also shows that the Taliban militants captured Nimroz airport. 

The insurgents have taken dozens of districts and border crossings in recent months and put pressure on several provincial capitals, including Herat in the west and Kandahar in the south, as foreign troops withdraw.