The Taliban armed group has taken control of Ghazni, the capital of Ghazni province, about 130km (80 miles) southwest of capital Kabul.

It becomes the 10th provincial capital to fall within days.

A government source tells Al Jazeera that the Afghan government has offered the Taliban a share in power so long as the rising violence in the country comes to a halt.

Meanwhile, fighting is raging in Lashkar Gah, one of Afghanistan’s largest cities in the Taliban heartland of Helmand province.

The Lashkar Gah regional police headquarters were taken by the armed group, with some police officers surrendering to the fighters and others retreating to the nearby governor’s office still held by government forces.