The Capture of Zaranj occurred on 6 August 2021 when the Taliban captured Zaranj, the capital of Afghanistan's Nimruz Province, amid the 2021 Taliban offensive which ended the Afghanistan War. Zaranj had previously been known for its minimal government presence and as a hub of human trafficking, and the Afghan National Army refused to send reinforcements to Zaranj once the Taliban came within striking distance of the town amid their 2021 offensive, instead sending the 215th Corps to defend Lashkar Gah. On 5 August, the Taliban captured the Kang district, leading to Afghan government officials fleeing Zaranj, and the Taliban executing 30 captured ANA soldiers to demoralize the ANA defenders of the town. Local officials struck a deal with the Taliban which allowed for them to flee to Iran, and they joined the 20,000 Nimruz Province residents who crossed the Iranian border as refugees. At 2:00 PM on 6 August, the Taliban assaulted Zaranj, meeting light resistance and taking the governor's office and police and intelligence headquarters in a matter of three hours. The Afghan Air Force responded by bombing the police headquarters and border brigade, killing the Taliban shadow governor Abdul Khaliq and 13 other Taliban fighters. The Taliban proceeded to break into the provincial prison and free the inmates, and Zaranj's fall marked the first provincial capital to fall to the Taliban since Kunduz in 2016.