The Taliban have raised their flag on the bridge passing through Pyanj River and linking Tajikistan to Afghanistan, RIA Novosti reported.

“After seizing the border position of Afghanistan’s government forces on July 5, the Taliban today raised a flag on the column on their side of the bridge passing through Pyanj River, in front of “Tem” checkpoint in Tajikistan,” the source told RIA Novosti.

On the night of July 5, Afghan border guards surrendered their checkpoint to the Taliban without a battle, and 312 border guards and servicemen managed to cross over into the territory of Tajikistan via the bridge.

Currently, battles between government forces and the Taliban are taking place in Afghanistan, and the Taliban have seized major territories in rural areas and have launched an offensive against large cities. The escalation comes after the pullout of US troops which Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov referred to as the failure of the mission.