Now, US asks its citizens to leave Afghanistan as Taliban-led violence intensifies

Since the foreign troops started leaving Afghanistan, the Taliban had been extensively fighting with the Afghan government in an attempt to gain control of key areas.

Internally displaced Afghans who fled their home due to fighting between Taliban and Afghan security personnel, are seen at a camp in Daman district of Kandahar province south of Kabul. (Photo | AP) 

KABUL: The US on Saturday asked its citizens to leave war-torn Afghanistan as the Taliban intensified its attacks in recent days.

"The US urges its citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately using available commercial flight options. Given the security conditions and reduced staffing, the Embassy's ability to assist US citizens in Afghanistan is extremely limited even within Kabul," the US Embassy in Kabul said in a statement.

Earlier at a media briefing on Friday, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said that the US is "closely tracking" and is "concerned about" retaliatory killings of civilians in Afghanistan.

"If the Taliban claim to want international legitimacy, these actions are not going to get them the legitimacy they seek. They do not have to stay on this trajectory. They could choose to devote the same energy to the peace process as they are to their military campaign," Afghanistan's TOLO News quoted Psaki as saying.

Since the foreign troops started leaving Afghanistan, the Taliban had been extensively fighting with the Afghan government in an attempt to gain control of key areas.