KABUL — Mazar-i-Sharif, the most important city in the north of Afghanistan, has fallen to the Taliban after government forces suddenly left the city and headed toward the Uzbekistan border, according to sources in the city.

In an audio message shared with members of the media on Saturday, Mohammad Anwar Mohammadi, deputy commander of the Mazar special operations unit, announced that the Taliban had taken control of the city, adding that military units are currently at the border with Uzbekistan waiting for permission to enter.

A pro-government militia source told CNN that there was no fighting inside the city and that chaos took over when government forces left.

The Taliban had earlier claimed to have "conquered" Mazar-i-Sharif, which President Ashraf Ghani had visited only last week when he called for popular uprising militia to join the army in defending Afghanistan's cities.

The fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, means that only two major cities — Kabul and Jalalabad — remain in the government's control.

Earlier, the Taliban captured three more provincial capitals and camped just 50 kilometers away from the capital Kabul.

According to the local media Pajhwok news, the provisional capitals of Kunar, Logar and Paktika provinces had fallen to Taliban. The second and the third largest cities had fallen to Taliban.

The Taliban so far have captured 20 provincial capitals. The captured provinces include Herat, Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Nimroz, Ghor, Badghis, Ghazni, Faizabad city, Farah, Pul-e-Khumri, Sar-e-Pul, Sheberghan, Aybak, Kunduz, Taluqan and Zaranj provinces

Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted that Mazar-i-Sharif had been “conquered,” adding that the governor's office, police headquarters and intelligence (NDS) buildings had been taken, as well as army bases. Many of the vehicles, weapons and equipment had fallen into the hands of the mujahideen, he said.

Meanwhile, US President Biden was briefed about the ongoing situation in Afghanistan by his national security team this morning, according to the White House.

“This morning, the President and Vice President held a secure video conference with the national security team to discuss the ongoing efforts to drawdown our civilian footprint in Afghanistan, evacuate SIV applicants, and monitor the evolving security situation. The President and Vice President were joined by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Chief of Staff, National Security Advisor, and Homeland Security Advisor,” a readout of the meeting said.

The capital city, Asadabad, fell to the Taliban on Saturday, a member of the provincial council in Kunar in eastern Afghanistan said.

The council member confirmed that all the districts of Kunar province were now under Taliban control. He said the capital had been surrendered without a fight. Senior officials had left the city, he said.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has urged the Taliban to “reduce escalation and cease fire.”

The country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday that Al Thani conveyed his position in a meeting with the head of the Taliban's Political Bureau, Mullah Abdul Ghani Barader, and his accompanying delegation in Doha.

“Last week, Doha hosted an expanded international meeting on Afghanistan, which culminated in the participants agreeing on a set of positions, including the need to accelerate the peace process, negotiate concrete proposals from the Afghan sides, work to build confidence, stop violence between the two sides, and respect international law. Not to recognize any government in Afghanistan that is imposed through the use of military force,” the ministry added in its statement.

The statement followed talks in Doha on Thursday between Taliban representatives and Afghan government officials, along with envoys from the United States, China, Pakistan, the UN, the European Union, among others. — CNN