Taliban Claim To Control 85 Percent Of Afghanistan

The Taliban claimed Friday to be in control of 85 percent of Afghanistan after seizing key border crossings with Iran and Turkmenistan, part of a sweeping offensive launched as US troops pull out of the war-torn nation.

Hours after President Joe Biden issued a staunch defense of the US withdrawal, the Taliban said its fighters had seized the two crossings in western Afghanistan -- completing an arc of territory from the Iranian border to the frontier with China.

In Moscow, a delegation of Taliban officials said they controlled about 250 of Afghanistan's nearly 400 districts -- a claim impossible to independently verify, and disputed by the government.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said their fighters had captured the border town of Islam Qala on the Iranian frontier and the Torghundi crossing with Turkmenistan.

Afghanistan's interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said efforts were under way to dislodge the insurgents from their latest positions.