Faizabad, Taliqan, Kunduz, Aybak, Pul-i-Khumri, Sar-i-Pul, Sheberghan, Farah, Zaranj.
Tomorrow, Lashkar Gah and Mazar-i-Sharif, the day after tomorrow, Kabul?
In Afghanistan, Taliban fighters could isolate the Afghan capital in 30 days and possibly take it within 90 days.
That's what US intelligence thinks, according to a US defense official interviewed by Reuters after the Washington Post revealed the information.
When they began to withdraw their troops in May, the United States did not imagine such a step forward.
In the last twenty years, never had the Taliban managed to carry out a simultaneous offensive in so many regions.
Of course, there are still 25 regional capitals, but the Islamists now control 65% of Afghan territory, twice as many as three months ago.
Above all, they cut the supply lines of the Afghan security forces in the north of the country.
If they manage to take Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand that they have besieged since July 31, the Taliban will do a double blow: they will control half of the country's opium production, therefore a colossal financial windfall, and will see them rally to them local lords.
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However, these tribal chiefs are essential supports in the Afghan government's counter-offensive strategy.
The Afghan interior minister told Al Jazeera on Wednesday evening that he is seeking to arm local militias to repel the Taliban offensive.
“We are working in three phases.
The first is to stop the defeats (of government forces, editor's note), the second is to gather our forces to create rings of security around the cities, ”said General Abdul Satar Mirzakwal, in post for five weeks.
“All these soldiers who have abandoned their posts, we are bringing them back to their posts.
The third is to start offensive operations.
For the moment, we are entering the second phase, ”he added.
1000 civilians killed in one month
President Ashraf Ghani has traveled to Mazar-i-Sharif to try to rally former warlords in the defense of the largest city in the north, as Taliban forces approach it.
The fighting is also extremely intense in Kandahar City, said a doctor based in southern Kandahar province.
The city received dozens of bodies from Afghan forces and wounded Taliban.
For now, the fighting is held far from Kabul but hundreds of civilians converge on the capital, and the Taliban could slip in the crowd.
"The fear is to see suicide bombers entering diplomatic quarters to scare, attack and ensure that everyone leaves at the first opportunity," added the Reuters source.
Afghans "must determine ... if they have the political will to fight back and if they have the capacity to unite as leaders to fight back," said Jen Psaki, White House spokeswoman.
She declined to comment on intelligence assessments of a fall in Kabul in three months but assured that the plan to withdraw troops by August 31 was maintained.
The United Nations said more than 1,000 civilians had been killed in the past month, and the International Committee of the Red Cross said as of August 1, some 4,042 wounded had been treated in 15 health facilities. .
The Taliban have denied targeting or killing civilians and have called for an independent investigation.