U.S. President Joe Biden sends troops to Afghanistan amid Taliban advances

Kabul is now the only big city not in Taliban hands.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday that he had authorized additional military forces deployed to Afghanistan to support personnel drawdown, warning the Taliban not to put U.S. personnel and mission at risk.

"Based on the recommendations of our diplomatic, military and intelligence teams, I have authorized the deployment of approximately 5,000 U.S. troops to make sure we can have an orderly and safe drawdown of U.S. personnel and other allied personnel," Biden said.

Biden said the U.S. military had warned Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar that any action that put U.S. personnel or mission at risk "will be met with a swift and strong U.S. military response."

In a lengthy statement, Biden also defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan. "One more year, or five more years, of U.S. military presence would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country," he said. "And an endless American presence in the middle of another country's civil conflict was not acceptable to me."

Biden has set a formal end to the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan for August 31 as he looks to disengage from a conflict that started after al Qaeda attacked the United States on September 11, 2001.

The announcement to send additional troops to Afghanistan came as the Taliban continues to advance on the battlefield. According to the group's spokesman, the Taliban took control of the strategically important city Jalalabad early Sunday.

Kabul is now the only big city not in Taliban hands.

In a statement late on Saturday, the Taliban said its rapid gains showed it was popularly accepted by the Afghan people and reassured both Afghans and foreigners that they would be safe.

The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) "will, as always, protect their life, property and honor and create a peaceful and secure environment for its beloved nation," it said, adding that diplomats and aid workers would also face no problems.

Western governments were accelerating plans to evacuate their embassy staff, citizens and Afghans who had worked for them.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday held talks with local leaders and international partners, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Ghani and Blinken discussed urgent efforts to reduce violence in Afghanistan, the State Department said.

Qatar, which has been hosting inconclusive peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, said it had urged a cease-fire. Ghani has given no sign of responding to a Taliban demand that he resign as a condition for any ceasefire.