Taliban Control Six Provincial Capitals in Afghanistan

Taliban militants on Monday have taken control over Aybak city, the capital of northern Samangan province, in Afghanistan.

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The militants captured a provincial police station, provincial directorate of telecommunication, as well as a national intelligence agency office roughly at midday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted.

Lawmaker Mahbuba Rahmat confirmed that Aybak City surrendered to the insurgents without offering resistance and "without a single shot being fired."

The Taliban has also seized Sari Pul and Taluqan in the northern region, and Zaranj city in the western part of the country. Fighting has intensified since May in Afghanistan and Taliban militants have recently been mounting pressures on major cities.

At least one civilian was killed and 12 others were wounded during clashes in Kandahar city, capital of Kandahar province, Dawood Farhad, a provincial health official confirmed on Monday.

"One killed civilian and 12 wounded civilians, including seven men, four children and a woman, had been admitted to Mirwais Regional Hospital in Kandahar city since midday on Sunday," he said.

Kandahar city has been the scene of heavy clashes in recent weeks as Taliban militants, who took control over a number of suburban districts in the province, continued fighting to gain the control of the city from government forces.