KABUL : Taliban fighters could isolate Afghanistan's capital in 30 days and possibly take it over in 90, a US defence official told Reuters on Wednesday citing US intelligence, as militants took control of an eighth provincial Afghan capital. It came as President Ashraf Ghani flew in to Mazar-i-Sharif to rally old warlords to the defence of the biggest city in the north as Taliban forces close in. Taliban forces now control 65% of Afghanistan and have taken or threaten to take 11 provincial capitals, a senior EU official said on Tuesday. The United States was providing significant air support, food, equipment and salaries to Afghan forces, he said. Some Afghans feel abandoned as the United States and other Western powers withdraw, leaving the Taliban to make their move.

Source: Mint August 11, 2021 12:45 UTC