Ali worked as a labourer with the ADF in the southern Afghanistan province of Uruzgan from 2009 to 2011, before working as an interpreter with the Army in Tarin Kowt in 2012 and 2013.

AAP/AP/Vincent Thian While this is true of life in Afghanistan’s capital and larger cities, improvements in Uruzgan were less marked and never so far-reaching.

The Taliban has not formally claimed to have captured Tarin Kot, and government officials have not confirmed the city has been lost, but videos circulating Friday showed Taliban fighters in the city.

The Taliban have seized Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-largest city, and a number of other provincial capitals, as the insurgent group accelerates its rapid advance towards the capital Kabul.

On Friday, Taliban forces reportedly captured four more provincial capitals—Qalat in Zabul province, Tarin Kot in Uruzgan province, Pul-i-Alam in Logar province, and Firozkoh in Ghor province.

Its seizure marks the most significant gain yet for the Taliban. Elsewhere on Friday, the government lost control of the nearby capital of Urozgan province, Tarin Kot.