The Taliban took over several major provincial capitals after a weeks-long military offensive in Afghanistan. On Monday, two Afghan lawmakers told The Associated Press that the northern provincial capital of Aybak fell to the Taliban without resistance. They said government officials fled to another area in Samangan province. In the northern province of Sar-e Pul, a local official said Taliban forces had taken over the capital, Sar-e Pul, after a week of resistance by Afghan security forces. The official, Mohammad Noor Rahmani, said government forces had now completely withdrawn from the province. The cities of Aybak and Sar-e Pul join three other provincial capitals now fully under Taliban control: Zaranj, the capital of western Nimroz province, the city of Sheberghan, the capital of northern Zawzjan province, and Taleqan, the capital of another northern province with the same name.