After capturing the Jalalabad city, the Taliban has now occupied all major cities of Afghanistan, leaving the capital city of Kabul as the only major city under the Afghan Government’s control. Late on Saturday evening, they also took Mazar-i-Sharif, the Afghan government’s last major holdout in the northern part of the country.
Taliban closing in on Kabul, only 11 km away
According to reports, Taliban militants are merely 11 km away from Kabul. Fears are now rapidly increasing that the Islamist terror outfit may launch an assault on Kabul anytime soon.
The Islamist terror outfit releases statement vows to protect its “beloved nation”
Despite its rapid advances, leaving a frightening toll of death and mayhem, the Islamist terrorist group has released a statement in which it has vowed to protect lives, honour and create a peaceful and secure environment for its “beloved nation”.
“The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) will, as always, protect their life, property and honour and create a peaceful and secure environment for its beloved nation,” the statement read according to Reuters.
The Sunni Pashtun group said that its swift successes demonstrated that it was widely welcomed by the people and that Afghans and foreigners would not be harmed.
More US troops sent for evacuation
Meanwhile, the US President, Joe Biden has vowed to send more troops to evacuate civilians and warned the insurgents not to threaten that mission.
After consultations with his national security team, Biden said a total of “approximately 5,000” US soldiers, up from 3,000, will now help organize evacuations and the end of the US mission after 20 years on the ground.
He warned the Taliban that any action “that puts US personnel or our mission at risk there, will be met with a swift and strong US military response.”
The statement for the US President came after the terrorist group took control of Mazar-i-Sharif, closing in further on Kabul.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani calls for re-mobilisation of armed forces against the Taliban
On Saturday (August 14), Afghan President Ashraf Ghani made his first public appearance after the Islamist terror outfit, Taliban, intensified its offensive. In a pre-recorded message, the Afghan President called for the remobilisation of armed forces, following their crushing defeat at the hands of the Taliban. He emphasised that it was the topmost priority of the Afghan government. Ashraf Ghani said, “Under the current situation, remobilizing of the security and defence forces are our top priority and required measures are underway for this purpose.”
The president said that he will not allow the imposed war on Afghans to bring further killings, loss of the gains made in the last 20 years, destruction of public property and continued instability.
