14 minutes agoTaliban enter Kabul: Gunshots fired near presidential palace
Periskopi(5 years ago)
(5 years ago)Taliban fighters have been closed in Kabul following gunfire near the presidential palace until extremists have taken control of large parts of the country after the US left. Militants were seen on the outskirts of Kalakan, Charzabagh and Paghman several hours after taking over Jalalabad, the last great Afghan town that fell [...]
Militants were seen in the suburbs of Kalakan, Charzabagh and Paghman several hours after taking over Jalalabad, the last major Afghan city to fall into the hands of the rebels, Pryskopi follows.
The terrorist group in a statement have said they do not intend to take the capital “by force” after entering the city's suburbs.
An Afghan official confirmed that Jalalabad came under the control of the Taliban early in the morning, when the governor surrendered, saying it was the only “ways to save the lives of civilians”.
Its decline has also given the Taliban control of a road leading to the Pakistani town of Peshawar, one of the main highways in Afghanistan without access to the sea.
Jalalabad is near the Pakistani border and only 80 miles from Kabul the capital of Afghanistan, in which more than four million people live and currently the only big city still left under government control. Besides Kabul, only seven other district capitals from 34 of the country have still not fallen into the hands of the Taliban.
The Taliban are now holding the capital from all sides, controlling territories in the north, south, East and West.
Hoda Ahmad, a lawmaker from the province of Logar, said the Taliban have reached the Char Asyab district on the outskirts of the capital.
An American defence official has warned that there may be only a few days before the rebel fighters take over Kabul. Although last week, US intelligence estimates expected the city to be able to stay for at least three months.
As the Taliban progress speeds up, the United States is trying to evacuate more than 10,000 American citizens from the capital, with officials allegedly trying to reach an agreement that Taliban fighters will not land in Kabul until the United States can withdraw.
However, a senior U.S. official told the New York Times that the Taliban have warned the U.S. that they must stop the air strikes, or its extremist fighters will enter.
Joe Biden has pledged that any action that puts Americans at risk “will meet with a quick and strong American military response”. /Periscopi/
