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The Taliban has captured the Afghan provincial capital of Zaranj, according to reports, and assassinated the government’s top media officer in Kabul, on a day of high-profile setbacks for the country’s Western-backed administration.
A police spokesperson in southern Nimroz province said on Friday that Zaranj had fallen to the hardline Islamist group due to a lack of reinforcements from the government.
The insurgents have intensified their campaign to defeat the US-backed government in recent weeks, taking dozens of districts and border crossings as foreign forces complete their withdrawal following 20 years of war.
