Hundreds of Afghan government soldiers who had retreated to Kunduz airport after the Taliban* claimed to have captured the northern city, surrendered, according to provincial council member Amruddin Wali.
"This morning, hundreds of soldiers, police and members of the resistance forces who were stationed at the airport surrendered to the Taliban with all their equipment," Amruddin Wali said .
In recent days, the Taliban claimed to have captured a number of provincial capitals, with the first one — Zaranj, the centre of Nimruz — said to have been seized on Friday. Zaranj is the first provincial capital to have fallen to the militants since 2016.
In turn, Kabul has denied the Taliban's advances.
The hostilities between the Afghan government and the Taliban have intensified as foreign troops began withdrawing from the country. The Taliban have since captured large rural territories and launched an offensive on major cities.
* Taliban is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other countries