Infographic: Taliban captures eight Afghan provincial capitals

The Taliban has captured eight provincial capitals in Afghanistan in five days.

The fighting rages on in the north, with the cities of Sar-e-Pol, Sheberghan, Aybak, Kunduz, Taluqan, and Pul-e-Khumri succumbing to Taliban control.

Farah in southwest Afghanistan and Zaranj, a remote city of more than 63,000 inhabitants in the southern province of Nimruz, also fell to Taliban control.

The Taliban had already gained vast parts of rural Afghanistan since launching a series of offensives in May to coincide with the start of the final withdrawal of foreign forces.