KABUL — Taliban fighters seized control of the capital of Nimruz province in southwestern Afghanistan on Friday, the first provincial capital to be overrun by the militants since the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from the country.

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       “People and the security forces lost their morale,” said Gul Ahmad Noorzad, a parliament member from Nimruz. Noorzad said Afghan government forces largely fled the city, Zaranj, allowing the Taliban to move in without a fight.

       “The Afghan forces simply took off their uniforms and crossed into Iran,” he said, along with many civilians and government officials.

       Rohullah Gul Khairzad, the province’s deputy governor, confirmed that the city had fallen to the Taliban.

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       The fall of a provincial capital to the Taliban marks a significant escalation of the group’s offensive. Previously, fighting was largely confined to the country’s rural areas, but Taliban fighters have also begun increasing pressure on some of the country’s largest cities.

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       Unconfirmed videos circulating on social media show residents looting shops in a central market in Zaranj. One Afghan security official said clashes in the city are continuing. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss ongoing operations with the media.

       The violence triggered a prison break in Nimruz, but the official said the most notorious inmates had already been transferred to Kabul. The Taliban has prioritized prison raids to replenish the insurgents’ ranks and degrade the morale of Afghan security forces.

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       Noorzad, the member of parliament, said the Taliban had been threatening the Nimruz capital for days, warning of an attack. “I pleaded for air support and deployment of the commandos (elite Afghan soldiers) to Zaranj to boost the morale of the security forces and people. Unfortunately, nobody listened to me,” he said.

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       “Our fighters have cleared the military bases, and intelligence offices from the enemies,” said Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi in a statement on the fall of the city.

       The Taliban has also escalated attacks in Kabul on senior government officials, including the assassination Friday of Dawa Khan Menapal, who oversaw operations for local and foreign media. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the group carried out the slaying.

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       The Taliban also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing Wednesday that targeted the home of acting defense minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi in Kabul. Eight civilians were killed and 20 were wounded, but Mohammadi was not present at his guesthouse at the time of the attack.

       Taliban spokesmen said the attack Wednesday was in response to the increased use of airstrikes by the Afghan government and the United States. The group warned that similar assaults would follow if the strikes continue.

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       The use of air power has been particularly intense in the southern province of Helmand, where the capital is besieged by the Taliban and Afghan forces are struggling to retain control. The Taliban said the U.S. and Afghan military’s use of airstrikes amounts to war crimes, according to Ahmadi, the Taliban spokesman.

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       The Pentagon declined to provide details, including intelligence assessments of the fight in Nimruz or whether it would launch airstrikes in support of Afghan forces.

       “We feel it is in our best interest — and those of our Afghan partners — to remain disciplined about the amount of information we put out there,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

       Restricting information about U.S. support is a turnaround for the Defense Department in recent weeks, after officials disclosed details to reporters, such as the number of airstrikes and what the strikes targeted. Marine Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, who oversees operations in Afghanistan as head of U.S. Central Command, spoke with reporters in Kabul on July 25 and explained numerous operational initiatives the U.S. would take, including spiriting away Afghan aircraft to another country for crucial maintenance.

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       U.S. forces are in the last stages of a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan that President Biden has said will conclude at the end of August. The United States has increased airstrikes in recent weeks to help prop up Afghan government forces, but McKenzie did not commit to ending airstrikes in support of Afghan forces after the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline.

       Alex Horton in Kabul and Haq Nawaz Khan in Peshawar contributed to this report.

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