Taliban Claims It Has Captured Afghanistan's Key Border Crossing With Iran

A Taliban spokesperson said that the port of Islam Qala is now under their "full control" and they will try to put it back in operation today.

The Taliban said on Friday they had captured Afghanistan's biggest border crossing with Iran, as the insurgents continued a blistering offensive across the country. "The port of Islam Qala is now under our full control and we will try to put it back in operation today," Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the insurgents, told AFP. There was no immediate confirmation of the border crossing's fall from the government, and the Taliban's claim could not be independently verified. Islam Qala is one of the major ports in Afghanistan, through which Kabul conducts most of its official trade with Iran.