Taliban now controls half of Afghan districts: US Joint Chief of Staff

The Taliban has “strategic momentum” in its fight with the Afghan government as U.S. forces complete their withdrawal, the top U.S. general said Wednesday.

“This is going to be a test now of the will and leadership of the Afghan people, the Afghan security forces and the government of Afghanistan,” General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

He said Taliban insurgents have control of more than 200 district centers -- about half of 419 in the country -- and is putting military pressure on the country’s provincial capitals.

The U.S. military has completed