Afghanistan security fears mount as Taliban fighters encircle key city
- Taliban take key Afghan district, adding to string of battlefield wins
- Pentagon says US could slow down its military withdrawal
The United States said it could slow down its military withdrawal from Afghanistan due to the gains made by Taliban insurgents.
“The situation in Afghanistan changes as the Taliban continue to conduct these attacks and to raid district centres as well as the violence, which is still too high,” he told reporters on Monday.
The Pentagon spokesman’s comments came as Taliban fighters took control of a key district in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province and encircled the provincial capital, adding to its string of recent victories on the battlefield.
Fighting around Imam Sahib district began late Sunday and by midday Monday the Taliban had overrun the district headquarters and were in control of police headquarters, said Inamuddin Rahmani, provincial police spokesman said.
Taliban militants were within a kilometre of Kunduz, the provincial capital but had not entered into the city, he said, although there were reports of small bands of Taliban near the outskirts and residents trying to leave for Kabul.
