KABUL: Taliban fighters have seized control of a key district in western Afghanistan that includes an important border crossing with Iran, Afghan security officials said, as the armed group continues its rapid military advances around the country.
In the last week, the Taliban has overrun areas bordering five countries – Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China and Pakistan – as foreign forces end their 20-year intervention and the domestic security situation deteriorates.
“We are monitoring the slightest movement near the border,” said Brigadier General Farhad Arianfar, a commander of the Iranian army’s ground forces, quoted by state news agency IRNA.
Border guards and the elite Revolutionary Guard were also taking part in the operation.
“We will not allow any smuggling operation or any unauthorised entry across these borders,” Arianfar said during a tour of the border zone.
