Washington : US President Joe Biden has said he does not regret his move to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, as Taliban militants continue to make rapid advances.
Mr Biden urged Afghanistan’s leaders to unite and “fight for their nation”.
A US-led military campaign began in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks on American soil – but now most of the foreign troops have pulled out.
The Taliban group has now seized nine of the country’s 34 provincial capitals, and are threatening more.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Mr Biden said the US was keeping the commitments it had made to Afghanistan, such as providing close air support, paying military salaries and supplying Afghan forces with food and equipment.
But he said: “They’ve got to fight for themselves.”
The Washington Post cited unnamed officials as saying the capital Kabul could fall to the Taliban within 90 days, based on US military assessments.
More than 1,000 civilians have been killed amid fierce fighting between the Taliban and government forces in the past month, according to the UN. Its children’s agency Unicef warned this week that atrocities being committed against children were growing “higher by the day”.