The Taliban claimed yesterday it now controls 85pc of Afghanistan’s territory amid a surge in wins on the ground and as American troops complete their pullout from the war-battered country.

The announcement came at a press conference at the end of a visit by a senior Taliban delegation to Moscow this week – a trip meant to offer assurances that the insurgents’ quick gains in Afghanistan do not threaten Russia or its allies in Central Asia.

The claim, which is imposs-ible to verify, was considerably higher than previous Taliban statements that more than a third of the country’s 421 districts and district centres were in their control. There was no immediate response from the government in Kabul.

Earlier this week, Taliban advances forced hundreds of Afghan soldiers to flee across the border to Tajikistan, which hosts a Russian military base. Tajikistan in turn called up 20,000 military reservists to strengthen its southern border with Afghanistan.

Russian officials have ex- pressed concern the Taliban surge could destabilise the former Soviet Central Asian nations north of Afghanistan.

Since mid-April, when US President Joe Biden ann- ounced the end to Afghanistan’s “forever war”, the Taliban has made strides throughout the country. It recently swept through dozens of districts, taking control, often without a fight. Over the past week, it seized border crossings with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran.

However, in Moscow, the Taliban promised not to attack provincial capitals or seize them by force, and expressed hopes for a “political resolution” with Kabul.

“We will not seize provincial capitals in order not to inflict death on Afghan citizens,” said Taliban negotiator Mawlawi Shahabuddin Delawar.

Guarantees for that have been presented to the Afghan authorities, along with demands for the release of more Taliban prisoners from Afghan jails, Mr Dilawar said. He added that the Taliban now controls 85pc of Afghan territory.

The Taliban vowed it would “not allow anyone, any individual, any entity to use the soil of Afghanistan against the neighbouring country, regional country and world country, including the United States and its allies”.

“We don’t want to fight. We want to find a political resolution through political negotiations,” said Taliban spokesman Mohammad Sohail Shaheen. Taliban representatives spoke through a translator.

Iranian media reported yesterday that the Taliban was in control of two border crossings between Afghanistan and Iran, including the key transit route of Islam Qala seized on Thursday. Iranian state radio said 300 Afghan soldiers and civilians had escaped the Taliban advance and slipped across the border to Iran.

In southern Kandahar, there was fighting yesterday near the provincial capital. The government had sent more troops to protect the prison there from attempts by the Taliban to attack it and free inmates.

Moscow, which fought a 10-year war in Afghanistan that ended with Soviet troops’ withdrawal in 1989, has made a diplomatic comeback as a mediator, reaching out to feuding Afghan factions as it has jockeyed with the US for influence in the country.

It has hosted several rounds of talks on Afghanistan, that involved the Taliban, even though Russia has labeled them a terrorist organisation.

Asked about this week’s visit and the terrorist label, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow’s contacts with the Taliban were “necessary, given how intensely the situation in Afghanistan is developing”.