Taliban seize Jalalabad, cut off Afghan capital from east

KABUL – The Taliban seized the metropolis of Jalalabad aboriginal Sunday, cutting disconnected Afghanistan's progressively isolated superior Kabul to the eastbound arsenic the insurgents' blitz crossed the state continued up of the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from the state aft 2 decades of war.

The illness of Jalalabad, which had been the past large metropolis lasting too Kabul, leaves Afghanistan's cardinal authorities successful power of conscionable the superior and 7 different provincial capitals. In a nationwide violative that has taken conscionable implicit a week, the Taliban has defeated, co-opted oregon sent Afghan information forces fleeing from wide swathes of the country, adjacent with immoderate aerial enactment by the U.S. military.

President Ashraf Ghani, who spoke to the federation Saturday for the archetypal clip since the violative began, appears progressively isolated arsenic well. Warlords helium negotiated with conscionable days earlier person surrendered to the Taliban, leaving Ghani without a subject option. Ongoing negotiations successful Qatar, the tract of a Taliban office, besides person failed to halt the insurgents' beforehand arsenic thousands of civilians fly into Kabul.

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The militants posted photos online aboriginal Sunday showing them successful the governor's bureau successful Jalalabad, the superior of Nangarhar province.

Abrarullah Murad, a lawmaker from the state told The Associated Press that the insurgents seized Jalalabad aft elders negotiated the autumn of the authorities there. Murad said determination was nary warring arsenic the metropolis surrendered.

The seizure Sunday comes amid accelerated gains by the Taliban implicit the past week, pressuring Afghanistan's cardinal authorities arsenic U.S., British and Canadian forces unreserved troops successful to assistance their diplomatic staffs inactive there.

The autumn Saturday of Mazar-e-Sharif, the country’s 4th largest city, which Afghan forces and 2 almighty erstwhile warlords had pledged to defend, hands the insurgents power implicit each of bluish Afghanistan.

On his code Saturday, Ghani vowed not to springiness up the “achievements” of the 20 years since the U.S.-led penetration toppled the Taliban aft the 9/11 attacks.

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The U.S. has continued holding bid talks betwixt the authorities and the Taliban successful Qatar this week, and the planetary assemblage has warned that a Taliban authorities brought astir by unit would beryllium shunned. But the insurgents look to person small involvement successful making concessions arsenic they rack up victories connected the battlefield.

“We person started consultations, wrong the authorities with elders and governmental leaders, representatives of antithetic levels of the assemblage arsenic good arsenic our planetary allies,” Ghani said. “Soon the results volition beryllium shared with you,” helium added, without elaborating further.

Tens of thousands of Afghans person fled their homes, with galore fearing a instrumentality to the Taliban’s oppressive rule. The radical had antecedently governed Afghanistan nether a harsh mentation of Islamic instrumentality successful which women were forbidden to enactment oregon be school, and could not permission their homes without a antheral comparative accompanying them.

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Salima Mazari, 1 of the fewer pistillate territory governors successful the country, expressed fears astir a Taliban takeover Saturday successful an interrogation from Mazar-e-Sharif, earlier it fell.

“There volition beryllium nary spot for women,” said Mazari, who governs a territory of 36,000 radical adjacent the bluish city. “In the provinces controlled by the Taliban, nary women beryllium determination anymore, not adjacent successful the cities. They are each imprisoned successful their homes.”

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Faiez reported from Istanbul and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Joseph Krauss successful Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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