A police spokesman in southern Nimroz province says the capital Zaranj has fallen to the Taliban because of a lack of reinforcements from the government
The month-long stoppage in hostilities in the Alingar district of Laghman province, one of the hardest hit by violence, was called to allow local farmers to harvest their wheat crop and students to sit annual examinations
Tribal elders drafted a demand letter, known locally as an "Ariza", which was then signed by two local officials of each the Taliban and the government.
