Taliban fighters have seized the headquarters of a northern district in Afghanistan, officials say.
The militants captured the Kohistanat district in Sar-e-pul province after a night of heavy fighting.
It comes two days after the Taliban took control of a police base in northern Badakhshan province, capturing and later releasing over 100 officers. Militant violence has increased since the departure of most US and Nato forces last year.
At least one local police commander in Kohistanat and several of his men had been forced to surrender to the Taliban, reports said.
Provincial police chief Gen Mohammad Aser Jabarkhail told AP news agency they had been unable to send police reinforcements in time because Kohistanat was too far away from the provincial capital.
