MOSCOW, 13 Aug. The radical Taliban * captured the second largest city in Afghanistan, Kandahar, the center of the province of the same name, the Associated Press reports, citing local authorities. Officials said Kandahar fell on Thursday evening. Local officials and their entourage allegedly fled to the airport to leave the city. Taliban spokesman * Qari Yusuf Ahmadi previously reported via Twitter that the militants had completely occupied Herat province. In recent months, the confrontation between the government forces and the Taliban has escalated in the country. This is taking place against the backdrop of the withdrawal of American troops, which the Russian Foreign Ministry called an admission of the failure of the mission. The militants have already captured large territories and launched an offensive against large cities. They claim that since the end of last week they have seized the administrative centers of ten of the 34 provinces, including the cities of Zaranj, Puli-Khumri, Ghazni, as well as Kunduz, located 60 kilometers from the nearest border crossing in Tajikistan. The authorities, for their part, say they have regained control of some cities, but clashes continue. * A terrorist organization banned in Russia.
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