"The Taliban is kidnapping and forcibly marrying young girls and women to its fighters as it recaptures huge areas of Afghanistan, it was claimed last night.

The Mail on Sunday has learned that whenever the extremists capture a new town or district, they issue orders through the speakers of local mosques for the names of wives and widows of all local government and police personnel to be handed over.

The group has rounded up hundreds of young women to be married off to their militants as a ‘war booty’, local residents and officials told this newspaper."