After taking strategically located Ghazni, the possibility of Kabul falling to the Taliban increases.

After being routed in 2001 following the entry of the US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan, the Taliban are now seizing new territories as the US is set to complete the withdrawal of its troops by August end.

The beleaguered Afghan national forces continue to put up a brave fight but the Taliban have run over the country and now hold a third of Afghanistan's regional cities.

Ghazni - the city is the major Kabul-Kandahar motorway, linking militant strongholds in the south to Kabul - is a major gain for Taliban, said a BBC report.

BBC reported citing a provincial council member that the Taliban had taken most of the centre and only a police base on the outskirts remains in the hands of the Afghan security forces.

Herat, in the west of Afghanistan, had been under siege for weeks and on Thursday the city had also fallen to the Taliban, including the governor's office.

The US embassy in Kabul said it was hearing reports that the Taliban was executing Afghan troops who were surrendering, saying it was "deeply disturbing and could constitute war crimes."

More than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan in the past month, according to the UN.

Amid intense bloodbath, thousands of people from northern provinces have become internally displaced, travelling to seek safety in Kabul, which is yet still in the control of the civilian government of Afghanistan.