Taliban seize government buildings in Afghan cities Kunduz, Sar-e Pul

TIL Desk/World/Kabul/Taliban fighters overran two provincial capitals, including the strategic northeastern city of Kunduz and northern Sar-e Pul on Sunday, local officials said, as the insurgents intensified pressure on the north and threatened further cities.

Taliban fighters seized key government buildings in the city of Kunduz, leaving government forces hanging onto control of the airport and their own base, a provincial assembly lawmaker said on Sunday.

The Taliban have also taken government buildings in the northern provincial capital of Sar-e Pul, driving officials out of the main city to a nearby military base, Mohammad Noor Rahmani, a provincial council member of Sar-e Pul province, said.

A Taliban offensive has gathered momentum in recent days, as the insurgents unleashed their forces across Afghanistan after the United States announced it would end its military mission in the country by the end of August.