Kabul – The Taliban claimed to be in control of 85 percent of Afghanistanas authorities Saturday prepared to retake a key border crossing seized bythe insurgents in a sweeping offensive launched as US troops pull out ofthe war-torn nation.
Hours after President Joe Biden issued a staunch defence of the USwithdrawal on Thursday, the Taliban said its fighters had seized twocrossings in western Afghanistan — completing an arc of territory from theIranian border to the frontier with China.
In Moscow, a delegation of Taliban officials said they controlled about 250of Afghanistan’s nearly 400 districts — a claim impossible toindependently verify, and disputed by the government.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid separately told AFP their fighters hadcaptured the border town of Islam Qala on the Iranian frontier and theTorghundi crossing with Turkmenistan.
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Herat governor spokesman Jilani Farhad said the authorities were preparingto deploy new troops to retake Islam Qala port, the biggest trade crossingbetween Iran and Afghanistan.
“Reinforcements have not been sent to Islam Qala yet. They will be sentthere soon,” he told AFP.
