The United States said on Thursday it will send troops to evacuate embassy staff from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan amid a rapid Taliban advance across the country, AFP reports.
The announcement came hours after Afghan troops abandoned the country's third largest city -- Herat -- to the insurgents.
"We are further reducing our civilian footprint in Kabul in light of the evolving security situation," US State Department spokesman Ned Price was quoted as having told reporters, while noting the embassy would remain open.
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 for attacks on the Taliban.
Price also said the United States would also start sending in daily flights to evacuate Afghan interpreters and others who assisted the Americans and are fearful for their lives due to the Taliban's sweeping offensive.
Earlier on Thursday, the Afghan Interior Ministry confirmed the fall of Ghazni, about 150 kilometers (95 miles) from Kabul and along the major highway to Kandahar and the Taliban heartlands in the south.
The conflict between Afghanistan and the Taliban has escalated dramatically since May, when US-led forces began the final stage of a troop withdrawal due to end later this month.
The Afghan government is countering the Islamist group’s moves by removing its troops from areas that are hard to defend, preferring to focus on protecting heavily populated areas. They are also lobbying Pakistan to bring to an end reinforcements and supplies for the Taliban being smuggled over the open border region between the two countries.
With negotiations between Washington and the Taliban stalled, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stressed this week that the Biden administration still believed that dialogue was the only solution.
“Ultimately, our view is that the Afghan national security defense forces have the equipment, numbers and training to fight back, which will strengthen their position at the negotiating table,” Psaki said at a press briefing. “The president continues to believe that it is not inevitable that the Taliban takes over Kabul or the country.”