The Taliban took over Herat, which is Afghanistan’s third-largest city, on Thursday and also seized another key district capital just 150 kilometres from Kabul.
A senior security source from Herat told AFP that government forces and administration officials had retreated to an army barracks outside the city.
A Taliban spokesman tweeted “soldiers laid down their arms and joined them.
An AFP correspondent had earlier filmed the Taliban flag flying over the police headquarters in Herat
Herat — about 150 kilometres from the Iranian border — is home to veteran warlord Ismail Khan, who for weeks has been rallying his forces to make a stand against the Taliban.
Earlier, Afghanistan's interior ministry confirmed the fall of Ghazni, which lies along the major Kabul-Kandahar highway and serves as a gateway between the capital and militant strongholds in the south.
Reports also said the Taliban have captured Qala-e-Naw the provincial capital of Badghis province, the 12th provincial capital to fall in past 3 days.