Afghanistan: Taliban controls 80 percent of the country, spokesperson tells Rudaw
The Taliban now controls nearly 80 percent of Afghanistan, a spokesperson for the Taliban politburo told Rudaw on Friday.
“Before the recent events, we had around 70 percent of the land in our hands. Right now, around 80 percent of the area is under our control,” Mohammed Naeem told Rudaw’s Bestoon Khalid. “Previously we had many areas under our control, just not the centers of the districts, but now we are slowly controlling the centers as well.”
The spokesperson’s remarks come on the same day that Taliban declared they had taken over two key border crossings bordering Iran and Turkmenistan. Video footage circulating on social media showed Taliban fighters taking down the flag of Afghanistan from the Islam Qala border crossing bordering Turkmenistan.
The US entered Afghanistan to fight the Taliban following the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. The US is now withdrawing its troops from the country, allowing the Taliban to make territorial advances.