Taliban seize Paktika provincial capital Sharan in Afghanistan

Taliban militants captured Sharan city, the capital of eastern Paktika province on Saturday, head of provincial council Bakhtiar Gul Zadran said, reported Xinhua.

"Sharan fell to the Taliban this morning and at the moment all Paktika province is under Taliban control," Zadran told Xinhua.

All officials of the province have gone to a military base, the official said without providing more details.

A day earlier on Friday, the Taliban captured Logar province with Pul-e-Alam as provincial capital, 60 km south of Kabul.

A Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also confirmed that the Taliban is in control of Sharan city.

With the fall of Sharan city, the number of provincial capitals captured by the armed group has reached 19 in the country's 34 provinces.