https://apnews.com/e2c0e7b46c03cebb4fdddca309e005e8

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban seized three more provincial capitals in Afghanistan and a local army headquarters in a blitz across the country’s northeast, officials said Wednesday, with the insurgents now controlling some two-thirds of the nation as the U.S. and NATO finalize their withdrawal after its decades-long war there.

The fall of the capitals of Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces to the northeast and Farah province to the west put increasing pressure on the country’s central government to stem the tide of the advance, even as its lost a major base in Kunduz. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rushed to Balkh province, already surrounded by Taliban-held territory, to seek help pushing back the insurgents from warlords linked to allegations of atrocities and corruption.