The Taliban’s rapidly expanding campaign will likely lead to the fall of Afghanistan’s remaining provincial capitals over the next two months, strengthening the group’s position in political talks with the Afghan government. The Taliban has swept through southern Afghanistan in recent days, capturing the country’s second-largest city of Kandahar on Aug. 12 before going on to seize neighboring provincial capitals. The militant group now reportedly controls 18 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals and is quickly closing on the Afghan capital of Kabul . In some provinces, the Taliban has faced little-to-no resistance, with security forces and government officials quickly abandoning their posts. The governor of Ghazni, for example, surrendered the city to the Taliban in return for allowing him to safely flee the city. The Taliban’s recent slew of strategic victories in the Afghan cities of Herat, Ghazni, Kandahar and Pul-e-Alam will strengthen its efforts to eventually isolate Kabul.