The provincial capital, Herat, is under Taliban control

Desk report: The Taliban have seized control of Herat, the capital of western Afghanistan and the country’s third largest city. The city fell to the Taliban on Thursday (August 12th) evening, German-based Deutsche Welle reported.Citing Afghan officials, the report said the Taliban had taken control of the governor’s office and the Herat police headquarters. The governor of Ghazni province has been arrested in Wardak province after fleeing the city of Ghazni. According to a report by Deutsche Welle, the capital Ghazni came under the control of the militant group after ‘intense fighting’ on Thursday morning.A Taliban spokesman tweeted Thursday that the city’s governor’s office, police headquarters and prison had been seized. Faqiri, the head of the provincial council, confirmed that the governor had surrendered to the Taliban. Kandahar MP Gul Ahmad Kamin said Taliban fighters had broken the frontline and entered Kandahar. They are clashing sporadically with government forces inside the city.
Earlier, the provincial capital of Nimroz in Afghanistan was captured by the Taliban, officials said. On 6 August Jaranaz, the capital of the southwestern province of Nimroz, was captured. After the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban began to occupy various areas there quite rapidly. It was the first time they had captured a provincial capital. The Taliban have already taken control of vast rural areas in Afghanistan. Now they are targeting big cities.