KABUL, Afghanistan —

       The Taliban seized three more provincial capitals in Afghanistan and a local army headquarters in a blitz across the country’s northeast, officials said Wednesday, with the insurgents now controlling about two-thirds of the nation as the U.S. and NATO complete their withdrawal of forces.

       The fall of the capitals of Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces to the northeast and Farah province to the west put increasing pressure on the country’s central government to stem the tide of the advance, even as

       The fall of the capitals of Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces, in the northeast, and Farah province, in the west, puts increasing pressure on the country’s central government in Kabul to stem the advancing Taliban tide. The government also lost a major base in the northern city of Kunduz. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rushed to Balkh province, already surrounded by Taliban-held territory, to seek military help from local warlords linked to allegations of atrocities and corruption.

       While Kabul itself has not been directly threatened in the advance, its stunning speed raises questions of how long the Afghan government can maintain control of its countryside. The multiple fronts of the battle have stretched the government’s special operations forces, regular troops have often fled the battlefield and thousands of civilians have sought safety in the capital. The U.S. military has conducted some airstrikes but largely has avoided involving itself in the ground campaign.

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       Humayoon Shahidzada, a lawmaker from Farah, confirmed to the Associated Press the fall of his province’s capital. Neighboring Nimroz province was overrun in recent days after a weeklong campaign by the Taliban.

       In Farah province, Taliban fighters dragged the shoeless, bloody corpse of one Afghan security force member through the street, shouting: “God is great!” Gunfire echoed through the street as Taliban fighters carrying M-16 rifles and driving Humvees and Ford pickup trucks donated to the Afghan government by the U.S. rolled through the streets of the capital city, which is also called Farah.

       World & Nation

       Stunning speed of Taliban victories ramps up the pressure on Kabul — and Washington

       Taliban fighters have seized several provincial capitals in recent days, marking a ‘deadlier and more destructive phase’ of the war in Afghanistan.

       The crackle of automatic weapon fire continued throughout the day in Farah.

       Hujatullah Kheradmand, a lawmaker from Badakhshan, said the Taliban had seized his province’s capital, Faizabad. An Afghan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak about an unacknowledged loss, said Baghlan’s capital, Poli-Khumri, also fell.

       The insurgents earlier captured six other provincial capitals in the country in less than a week, including Kunduz in Kunduz province — a significant gain and one of the country’s largest cities.

       On Wednesday, the headquarters of the Afghan National Army’s 217th Corps at Kunduz airport fell to the Taliban, according to Ghulam Rabani Rabani, a provincial council member in Kunduz, and lawmaker Shah Khan Sherzad. The insurgents put video online that they said showed surrendering troops. The corps is one of seven, and the loss of its headquarters represents a major setback. It wasn’t immediately clear what equipment was left behind for the insurgents.

       World & Nation

       ‘The Taliban will come ... 100%.’ As U.S. withdraws, Kandahar faces a takeover

       As U.S. forces pull out from Afghanistan, the Taliban is in the ascendant — and threatening to retake the city that was its former spiritual capital.

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       Some civilians who have fled Taliban advances have said that the insurgents imposed repressive restrictions on women and burned down schools. There have also been reports of revenge killings in areas where the Taliban have gained control.

       Speaking to journalists Tuesday, a senior EU official said the insurgents held some 230 districts of the more than 400 in Afghanistan. The official described another 65 under government control while the rest were contested. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal figures.

       Already, northeast Afghanistan largely has fallen to the Taliban, except for Balkh province. There, warlords Rashid Dostum, Atta Mohammad Noor and Mohammad Mohaqiq planned to mobilize forces in support of the Afghan government to push back the Taliban. Dostum in particular has a troubled past, facing investigations for allegedly killing hundreds of Taliban fighters last year by letting them suffocate in sealed shipping containers.

       After a 20-year Western military mission and billions of dollars spent training and shoring up Afghan forces, many observers are at a loss to explain why the regular forces have collapsed, fleeing the battle sometimes by the hundreds. The fighting has fallen largely to small groups of elite forces and the Afghan air force.

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       Politics

       Do Biden administration assurances on Afghanistan reflect the reality on the ground?

       U.S. defense of its Afghanistan pullout is based on a conviction that education and development gains are irreversible. But reality is very different.

       The success of the Taliban blitz has added urgency to the need to restart the long-stalled talks in Qatar that could end the fighting and move Afghanistan toward an inclusive interim administration. The insurgents have so far refused to return to the negotiating table.

       U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad issued a warning to the Taliban on Tuesday that any government that comes to power through force in Afghanistan won’t be recognized internationally.

       Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in the country’s north to escape battles that have overwhelmed their towns and villages. Families have flowed into Kabul, living in parks and streets with little food or water.