London. July 5. INTERFAX-The United Kingdom intends to maintain a small military contingent in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, The Telegraph newspaper reported, citing its sources.
There is no final decision yet, it will have to be made by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson following a meeting of the National Security Council on Monday, the newspaper writes.
It notes that the task of the British military in Afghanistan will be to train Afghan colleagues and stay in the ranks of the Afghan army as advisers.
Against the background of the Taliban offensive (the Taliban is a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation). Across Afghanistan, the newspaper quotes one of the sources: "The Taliban control the countryside and are just waiting for the coalition to leave. They make it absolutely clear at every opportunity that they have made peace with the coalition, not with the Afghan government. The country will explode."
As the Pakistani media reported yesterday, the Taliban took control of 13 more districts of Afghanistan in 24 hours. The Afghan army surrenders part of the districts to the Taliban without a fight. According to media reports, the Taliban currently control 110 of the 370 districts of the country.
Earlier it was reported that more than 300 Afghan soldiers retreated to the territory of Tajikistan under the onslaught of the Taliban.
The Telegraph reports that so far all major cities and towns remain under the control of the Afghan government, but the pace of the Taliban's advance has alarmed Washington and its NATO allies. Analysts predict that the government may fall within 6 to 12 months.
US President Joe Biden on Friday last week denied media reports that the completion of the already ongoing withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan is expected in the coming days, Washington will finish this process, as planned, by September, he said.
Earlier last week, CNN, citing a senior official of the US administration, reported that about 1,000 US troops after the official withdrawal of troops may remain in the country to help ensure the security of the US Embassy in Kabul and the city's airport.
Control over the Kabul airport in Washington is associated with the" continuation of the US diplomatic presence " in Afghanistan.
