WASHINGTON, 10 July 2021, (TON): The Pentagon’s top spokesperson acknowledged a “deteriorating security situation” in Afghanistan amid claims from the Taliban that the insurgent group now controls a large majority of the country.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said “what we have seen is a deteriorating security situation on the ground, no question about that, that the Taliban continues to take district centers, we are seeing them continue to advance on district centers around the country, and it is concerning.”

Kirby’s comment came after the Taliban claimed to now control 85 percent of Afghanistan.

The assertion was made by a Taliban negotiator during a news conference in Moscow, where a senior Taliban delegation was visiting this week to offer reassurances the insurgents’ recent gains will not threaten Russia or its Central Asian allies.

Kirby told media “he was not in a position to quantify or to validate, the Taliban’s claims on how much territory it controls.”

Kirby added that claiming territory or claiming ground doesn’t mean you can sustain that or keep it over time.