Taliban seizes Jalalabad, 26 cities captured so far
Kabul: In the latest development in war-torn Afghanistan, the Taliban has seized Jalalabad city without a fight, cutting off Kabul to the east on Sunday.
French news agency AFP quoting a Jalalabad resident reported that Taliban white flags all over the Jalalabad city.
Hours ago Taliban entered Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province. With the fall of Mazar-e-Sharif, Maymana, Nili, Mitarlam and Jalalabad, the number of cities captured by the Taliban reached 26. Afghan media reported that most of these cities surrendered to the Taliban without a fight.
Read: Not good for India to have military presence in Afghanistan: Taliban
Amid the Taliban's rapid gains, U.S., British, and Canadian forces are rushing troops to help their diplomatic staff withdraw. Pentagon has stated that US forces in Afghanistan continue to provide security to Kabul airport and Embassy.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said, “US forces in Afghanistan continue to provide security to Kabul airport and Embassy. Three battalions are preparing to move from their current locations. Leading elements already in Kabul. The rest are preparing to move but will mostly be in place by Sunday”.
John Kirby ostensibly referred Pakistan to cooperate in securing the lives and property of Afghans in the war-torn country.
Also, the US has conveyed to the Taliban representatives in Doha, via US Combatant Commander, that any action on their part on the ground in Afghanistan, that puts US personnel or their mission at risk there, will be met with a swift and strong US military response.
