Taliban seize second Afghan provincial capital in two days

Airport of Sheberghan is only part of northern city to remain under government control following assault by insurgents

The Taliban have captured a second provincial capital in Afghanistan a day after they took over the south-western financial hub of Zaranj, as the insurgent group continued to advance in urban parts of the country.

Taliban fighters armed with heavy weapons overran the strategic city of Sheberghan, the capital of the northern Jawzjan province, on Saturday afternoon. The city was considered a stronghold of the notorious Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, who is believed to be in Kabul after returning to Afghanistan this week following medical treatment in Turkey.