Hundreds of Afghan soldiers surrender to Taliban near Kunduz: AFP
Hundreds of Afghan soldiers who retreated to the airport outside Kunduz after the Taliban captured the northern city at the weekend have surrendered, a local lawmaker told AFP Wednesday.
Amruddin Wali, a member of the Kunduz provincial council, said soldiers, police and uprising forces "surrendered to the Taliban with all their military gear".
As reported earlier, Taliban has captured nine provincial capitals in Afghanistan in several days, including the cities of Sar-e-Pol, Sheberghan, Aybak, Kunduz, Taluqan, Pul-e-Khumri, Farah, Zaranj and most recently Faizabad. The Taliban had already gained vast parts of rural Afghanistan since launching a series of offensives in May to coincide with the start of the final withdrawal of foreign forces.