US ‘concerned’ with Taliban’s rapid advances, says terror group trying to isolate Kabul

Washington [US], August 14 (ANI): The United States on Friday said it is “certainly concerned” by rapid Taliban advances in Afghanistan, adding that the terror group is trying to isolate Kabul as they have “taken over border crossing, highways and major intersections to control lines of communication and revenue”.

Addressing the press conference, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Kabul is not right now an “imminent threat environment”. But Kirby added, “If you just look at what the Taliban’s been doing, you can see that they are trying to isolate Kabul. Now what they want to do if they achieve that isolation I think only they can speak to.”

Asked if Kabul is isolated now, Kirby deflected, saying, “I don’t want to get into a special intelligence assessment on the battlefield.” One reporter asked Kirby whether Pentagon leaders were surprised by the rate at which Taliban forces have been taking control of provincial capitals in Afghanistan. “We are certainly concerned by the speed with which the Taliban has been moving,” Kirby said.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby provided further details today on the emergency deployment of US troops to Kabul, saying three battalions are en route to the region and most should arrive by the end of the weekend. “I expect that by the end of the weekend, the bulk of the 3,000 that we talked about yesterday will be in place,” he said today at a briefing. “Probably not all. But the bulk.”

Afghanistan is witnessing a surge in violence as the Taliban has intensified its offensive against Afghan forces and civilians with the complete pullback of foreign forces just a few weeks away. Due to rising violence in the country by the Taliban, the situation is deteriorating badly as the terror group has been looting people and killing civilians after capturing multiple areas from the government.

The Taliban escalated its offensive against the Afghan forces soon after the US forces started leaving Afghanistan in large numbers after the peace deal signed between Washington and the Taliban in February last year. Taliban has toppled six provincial capitals in the past 24 hours which brings the total number of provinces fallen to the terrorists to 18, local media reported on Friday.

Khaama Press reported that centers of Kandahar, Helmand, Herat, Badghis, Ghor, Logar, Zabul, and Oruzgan provinces fell to the Taliban in the past 24 hours. (ANI)