US, UK send troops to help citizens leave

KABUL－The United States and the United Kingdom ordered Friday the deployment of thousands of troops to Afghanistan to evacuate their nationals, as the Taliban overran more key regional cities in an offensive that has left the capital Kabul dangerously exposed.

The orders came as the Taliban took control of Kandahar, the nation's second biggest city in the insurgency's heartland, leaving only Kabul and pockets of other territory in government hands.

"Kandahar is completely conquered. The Mujahideen reached Martyrs' Square," a Taliban spokesman tweeted on an officially recognized account, referring to a city landmark.

Hours later, the Taliban said they had also taken control of Lashkar Gah, the capital of neighboring Helmand Province.

The government has now effectively lost control of most of the country, following an eight-day blitz into urban centers by the Taliban that has also stunned Washington, Agence France-Presse reported.

The offensive was launched in early May after the US and its Western allies all but withdrew its forces from Afghanistan, with US President Joe Biden determined to end two decades of war by Sept 11.

Biden has insisted he has no regrets with his decision, but the speed and ease of the Taliban's urban victories in recent days has been a surprise and forced new calculations.

Washington and London announced plans late on Thursday to quickly pull out their embassy staff and other citizens from the capital.

"We are further reducing our civilian footprint in Kabul in light of the evolving security situation," US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, while noting the embassy would remain open.

"This is not abandonment. This is not an evacuation. This is not the wholesale withdrawal."

'Reckless policy'

The Pentagon said 3,000 US troops would be deployed to Kabul within the next 24 to 48 hours, underscoring that they would not be used to launch attacks against the Taliban.

Britain's Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said London would send 600 of its troops to evacuate nationals and former Afghan staff.

Price said the US would also start sending in daily flights to evacuate Afghan interpreters and their families.

Meanwhile, Congress' top Republican Senator Mitch McConnell on Thursday blasted Biden for a "reckless policy" toward Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan is careening toward a massive, predictable, and preventable disaster," he said in a statement. "The Biden administration has reduced US officials to pleading with Islamic extremists to spare our embassy as they prepare to overrun Kabul."

In the past week, the insurgents have taken 12 of Afghanistan's 34 provincial capitals.

Agencies - Xinhua