Afghanistan: Taliban trying to isolate Kabul
The United States on Friday said it is “certainly concerned” by rapid Taliban advances in Afghanistan, adding that the terror group is trying to isolate Kabul as they have “taken over border crossing, highways and major intersections to control lines of communication and revenue”.
Addressing the press conference, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Kabul is not right now an “imminent threat environment”.
But Kirby added, “If you just look at what the Taliban’s been doing, you can see that they are trying to isolate Kabul. Now what they want to do if they achieve that isolation I think only they can speak to.”Asked if Kabul is isolated now, Kirby deflected, saying, “I don’t want to get into a special intelligence assessment on the battlefield.”One reporter asked Kirby whether Pentagon leaders were surprised by the rate at which Taliban forces have been taking control of provincial capitals in Afghanistan.