[ti:Taliban Seizes Control of Several Afghan Capitals] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The Taliban took over several major provincial capitals [00:05.52]after a weeks-long military offensive in Afghanistan. [00:11.96]On Monday, two Afghan lawmakers told The Associated Press [00:17.88]that the northern provincial capital of Aybak [00:22.24]fell to the Taliban without resistance. [00:27.00]They said government officials fled to another area [00:31.76]in Samangan province. [00:35.28]In the northern province of Sar-e Pul, [00:38.96]a local official said Taliban forces [00:42.76]had taken over the capital, Sar-e Pul, [00:46.52]after a week of resistance by Afghan security forces. [00:52.12]The official, Mohammad Noor Rahmani, [00:56.24]said government forces had now completely withdrawn [01:00.88]from the province. [01:03.44]The cities of Aybak and Sar-e Pul [01:06.80]join three other provincial capitals [01:10.04]now fully under Taliban control: [01:13.76]Zaranj, the capital of western Nimroz province, [01:18.36]the city of Sheberghan, the capital of northern Zawzjan province, [01:24.64]and Taleqan, the capital of another northern province with the same name. [01:32.44]Kunduz was one of the provincial capitals [01:36.04]captured by Taliban rebels over the weekend. [01:40.16]Taliban fighters planted their flag in the city's main center, [01:46.12]a video received by the AP showed. [01:50.72]Kunduz, with a population of more than 340,000, [01:56.44]has long been defended against Taliban takeovers by Western troops. [02:03.28]Reuters news agency reported that Afghan government forces [02:09.08]were battling Taliban fighters Monday [02:12.44]as they sought to retake the northern city. [02:16.84]In western Herat province, security officials told Reuters [02:22.16]that heavy fighting had taken place outside the capital city, Herat. [02:29.68]Arif Jalali, head of Herat Zonal Hospital, [02:34.12]said 36 people had been killed [02:37.68]and 220 wounded in fighting over the past 11 days. [02:44.00]He said more than half of the injured were civilians [02:48.52]and women and children were among the dead. [02:53.40]In Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province, [02:57.80]the Taliban took over nearly all police districts [03:02.04]during the past week, The Associated Press reported. [03:07.44]Heavy fighting was reportedly continuing in the area. [03:12.96]The Taliban has intensified efforts [03:16.36]to take control of areas across the country [03:20.52]after the United States announced last month [03:24.28]it would end its military activities in Afghanistan by the end of August. [03:32.12]The Taliban's country-wide offensive [03:35.40]intensified as U.S. and NATO troops [03:39.48]began preparing to withdraw from the country. [03:43.36]The U.S. military has been involved [03:46.88]in a nearly 20-year war in Afghanistan. [03:51.80]With Taliban attacks increasing, [03:54.92]Afghan security forces and government troops [03:59.08]have fought back with U.S.-backed airstrikes. [04:04.16]The increased fighting has raised growing concerns [04:08.40]about civilian casualties. [04:11.04]UNICEF said on Monday it was shocked [04:15.40]by the increasing number of casualties [04:18.84]among children during the recent violence. [04:23.40]Over the past three days, [04:25.84]it reported at least 27 children had been killed [04:30.72]in different provinces, including 20 in Kandahar. [04:36.88]UNICEF called the killings in Afghanistan "atrocities." [04:42.40]It said the increase in violence [04:45.80]was harming "already vulnerable children." [04:50.36]The agency did not identify the side responsible for the killings. [04:56.76]UNICEF also expressed concern [05:00.04]for what it said was increased recruitment of children [05:04.76]by armed groups. [05:07.84]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM