Taliban capture key Afghan-Iran border crossing

The Taliban said on Friday they had captured a key border crossing with Iran, hours after President Joe Biden issued a staunch defence of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The group have captured more than a third of the country's 400 districts since the U.S. accelerated its final pullout in early May, with the insurgents now holding an arc of territory from the Iranian border to the frontier with China.

A government official said efforts were under way to recapture Islam Qala - the main conduit for trade between Afghanistan and Iran - as the insurgents continue to make sweeping gains across the country.

"All Afghan security forces including the border units are present in the area, and efforts are under way to recapture the site," interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian told journalists.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the crossing was "under our full control".

After the Taliban routed much of northern Afghanistan in recent weeks, the government is holding little more than a constellation of provincial capitals that must be largely reinforced and resupplied by air.

Afghanistan's air force was already under severe strain before the Taliban's lightning offensive overwhelmed the government's northern and western positions, which will likely put further pressure on the country's limited aircraft and pilots.The Taliban, for their part, welcomed the statement given by Biden on Thursday.

"Any day or hour that U.S. and foreign troops leave earlier is a positive step," spokesman Suhail Shaheen told journalists.

Afghan commandos and the insurgents have clashed this week in a provincial capital for the first time, with thousands of people fleeing Qala-i-Naw in northwest Badghis province.

President Ashraf Ghani said the government could handle the situation, but admitted difficulties lay ahead.

The Taliban have been emboldened by the troop withdrawal and with peace talks with the government deadlocked, appear to be pressing for a full military victory.

Still, on Thursday a member of the negotiating team in Doha insisted the insurgents were seeking a "negotiated settlement".

"We do not believe in a monopoly of power," Shaheen told journalists.    (AFP)