U.S. Says it is as much as Afghans to protect united states as Taliban take greater territory

KABUL, Aug nine (Reuters) - The United States stated it became as much as Afghan safety forces to shield the united states after Taliban militants captured a 6th provincial capital on Monday, in conjunction with border towns and alternate routes.

President Joe Biden has said the U.S. Military venture in Afghanistan will stop on Aug. 31, arguing that the Afghan people ought to decide their personal destiny and that he would not consign every other era of Americans to the 20-year struggle.

U.S. Envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad has left for Qatar where he'll "press the Taliban to stop their army offensive and to negotiate a political agreement," the State Department stated on Monday.

In talks over 3 days, representatives from governments and multilateral companies will press for "a discount of violence and ceasefire and a dedication now not to recognize a central authority imposed by means of force," the State Department stated.

The Taliban, preventing to reimpose strict Islamic regulation after their 2001 ouster, have stepped up their marketing campaign to defeat the authorities as overseas forces withdraw.

On Monday, they took Aybak, capital of the northern province of Samangan.

"Right now the Taliban are fighting with Afghan forces to seize the police headquarters and compound of the provincial governor," said Ziauddin Zia, a lawmaker in Aybak.

"Several elements of the capital have fallen to the Taliban."

The insurgents took 3 provincial capitals over the weekend - Zaranj inside the southern province of Nimroz, Sar-e-Pul, in the northern province of the equal name, and Taloqan, in northeastern Takhar province.

They had already taken the northern provincial capital of Kunduz and Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said america became deeply involved approximately the trend however that Afghan protection forces had the functionality to combat the rebel organization.

"These are their military forces, those are their provincial capitals, their human beings to defend and it is definitely going to come back right down to the management that they may be willing to exude right here at this specific moment," Kirby said.

Asked what the U.S. Military can do if the Afghan safety forces aren't placing up a fight, Kirby said: "Not an awful lot."

U.S. Officials, speaking on situation of anonymity, said that whilst the army had warned Biden earlier this 12 months that provincial capitals might fall with a withdrawal of troops, they were nevertheless amazed at how quickly a number of them have been being taken via the Taliban.

The United States performed less than a dozen moves over the weekend because the Taliban overran the provincial capitals, in one example virtually destroying device.

One reliable stated the Afghan forces did no longer ask for any help as Kunduz became being overtaken.