The Taliban raced closer to a complete military takeover of Afghanistan after capturing more major cities, leaving only the isolated capital Kabul for them to conquer.
Jalalabad was taken by the Taliban early Sunday, apparently not by force but through talks with elders who arranged a handover, a local lawmaker told the Associated Press.
The seemingly unstoppable insurgents posted images of themselves online in the governor’s office in Afghanistan’s fifth largest city.
We woke up this morning to the Taliban white flags all over the city,” said resident Ahmad Wali, confirming the Taliban’s social media claim. “They entered without fighting,” he told the AFP news agency.
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The fall of Jalalabad has also given the Taliban control of a road leading to the Pakistan city of Peshawar, one of the main highways into landlocked Afghanistan.
It followed the Taliban’s seizure of the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif late on Saturday, also with little fighting.
“There are no clashes taking place right now in Jalalabad because the governor has surrendered to the Taliban,” a Jalalabad-based Afghan official told Reuters. “Allowing passage to the Taliban was the only way to save civilian lives.”
A second security official in the city said the Taliban had agreed to give safe passage to government officials and security forces while they leave Jalalabad.
The decision to surrender was taken to avoid “casualties and destruction”, the person added.
