Taliban capture key northern city, approach Afghan capital

By AHMAD SEIR, TAMEEM AKHGAR, RAHIM FAIEZ and JOSEPH KRAUSS
Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have captured a large, heavily defended city in northern Afghanistan in a major setback for the government. The insurgents on Saturday were approaching the capital of Kabul, less than three weeks before the U.S. hopes to complete its troop withdrawal. The fall of Mazar-e-Sharif, the country’s fourth largest city, which Afghan forces and two powerful former warlords had pledged to defend, hands the insurgents control over all of northern Afghanistan. The Western-backed government is now largely confined to the center and east. A lawmaker from the province where Mazar-e-Sharif is located says powerful former warlords who had pledged to defend the city fled as pro-government forces collapsed.