Afghan government officials revealed the Taliban have captured Kandahar, the country's second-largest city and capital of the eponymous province.
Speaking on condition of anonymity to Associated Press, the officials said Kandahar city fell on Thursday night, with government officials fleeing the city by air.
Kandahar is the 12th provincial capital to fall to Taliban control in recent weeks. Afghanistan has a total of 34 provincial capitals.
Earlier on Thursday, the Taliban announced the capture of Herat, the country's third-largest city and one that is near Kabul.
"While Kabul itself isn't directly under threat yet, the losses and the battles elsewhere further tighten the grip of a resurgent Taliban, who are estimated to now hold over two-thirds of the country and are continuing to pressure government forces in several other provincial capitals," Associated Press reported.
Western nations to evacuate diplomats
The Pentagon announced on Thursday the US government would deploy 3,000 soldiers to aid in evacuation of some staff of the US embassy in Kabul.
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby announced one Army battalion and two Marine infantry battalions would be deployed in Afghanistan within 48 hours to assist at the Kabul airport.
The UK announced around 600 troops would be deployed to Afghanistan to assist in the evacuation of nationals. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced, "I have authorised the deployment of additional military personnel to support the diplomatic presence in Kabul, assist British nationals to leave the country and support the relocation of former Afghan staff who risked their lives serving alongside us."
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The additional forces would reach Afghanistan in the "coming days", the British government informed in a statement. The statement added “Sir Laurie Bristow, the UK’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, will continue to lead a small team in Afghanistan which will relocate within Kabul to a more secure location. This team will focus on helping remaining UK nationals to leave the country...”
Associated Press reported Canada would be sending special forces personnel to evacuate its embassy in Kabul before closing the mission.
Canada's CBC News reported, "The highly-trained soldiers are expected to work alongside allies, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, which are sending thousands of troops to the Afghan capital to aid in the partial evacuation of their embassies as security throughout the war-torn country rapidly deteriorates."
