Taliban Sweep Across Afghanistan's South, Take 4 More Cities
Smoke rises after fighting between Taliban and Afghan security personnel in Kandahar, southwest of Kabul, on Aug. 12.
Photographer: Sidiqullah Khan/APThis article is for subscribers only.
Kabul, Afghanistan (AP) -- The Taliban completed their sweep of Afghanistan's south on Friday, taking four more provincial capitals in a lightning offensive that brought them closer to Kabul just weeks before the U.S. is set to officially end its two-decade war.
In the last 24 hours, the country's second- and third-largest cities — Herat in the west and Kandahar in the south — have fallen to the insurgents, as has the capital of the southern province of Helmand, where American, British and NATO forces fought some of the bloodiest battles of the conflict.