Afghanistan: Taliban take second-largest city Kandahar | DW News

Afghanistan’s second-largest city, Kandahar, fell into the hands of Taliban insurgents, a spokesman for the militant group and local government officials said early Friday. A local government official later confirmed to the Reuters news agency that the militants had taken the city following “heavy clashes late last night.“ Since the US and NATO troop withdrawal from Afghanistan began in May, the country has been mired in turmoil, with the fundamentalist Taliban making rapid territorial gains.