Three more capital cities of Kandahar, Helmand and Zabul provinces were fallen to the Taliban in the south as the group seized the control of Herat city in the west on Friday.  

Security personnel in Lashkargah city, the capital of Helmand, were relocated to the Afghan Army’s 205 Atal Corps in Shorabak near the city following an agreement with the Taliban, officials said.  

Similar relocation was reported in Kandahar city. All security personnel were relocated to the 215 Maiwand Corps. 

Lawmakers from the three provinces did not comment on the dramatic fall of the three capital cities in the span of almost 12 hours.  

Kandahar residents said Taliban captured all government facilities including the police headquarters, office of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and the governor’s office without facing any resistance by security forces. 

“Last night, Taliban overran all parts of the city,” said Mohammad Yar Majroh, a journalist in Kandahar. 

“There has been a major catastrophe in Lashkargah. Civilian homes were bombed. Casualties occurred among civilians,” said Majid Akhundzada, member of Helmand provincial council. 

 “Provinces are falling. It looks very vague. You see that some provinces are surrendering without resistance,” said Shogufa Noorzai, an MP. 

 The security agencies refrain to comment.  

In Uruzgan province near Helmand and Kandahar, the provincial governor said some elders are in talks with him to encourage him to hand over the province to the Taliban without fighting.  

“We are in talks with the Taliban. The people have requested that the public assets shouldn’t be harmed and civilians must be protected. They want the issue to be resolved peacefully,” Shirzad said. 

The Taliban are now controlling 16 provincial capitals. There are reports the center of Logar has also fallen to the Taliban without any resistance, but officials in the province said on Friday evening that fighting is still underway in some parts of Pul-e-Alam city.