Taleban say they control 90 per cent of Afghanistan's border

Moscow - The resurgent group now control about half of Afghanistan's roughly 400 districts.

The Taleban control 90 per cent of Afghanistan's borders, a spokesman of the hardline group told Russian media on Thursday, following offensives carried out by them.

"Afghanistan's borders with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, or about 90 per cent of the border, are under our control," Zabihullah Mujahid told the RIA Novosti news agency, a claim that could not be independently verified.

The militants are pushing across Afghanistan, snapping up territory, seizing border crossings and encircling cities, with the withdrawal of US and NATO troops all but complete.

The resurgent militants now control about half of Afghanistan's roughly 400 districts.

Tajikistan, on Afghanistan's border, held a large-scale military inspection - the first of its kind in the country's 30-year history.

The Taleban's offensives in recent weeks have forced Afghan refugees and government troops to make their way across the Tajik border.

Russia, which maintains military bases in Central Asia, said it would stage military drills with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan near the border with Afghanistan next month.

• Asia