KABUL: US Defense and Security Secretory Lloyd Austin stated the first step Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) should take was to slow down Taliban’s recent advances and reclaim control of territory that had been lost to the insurgent group.

 Talking to a press conferences during his visit to Alaska on Saturday, he said “They are consolidating their forces around the key population centers.”

“In terms of whether or not it will stop the Taliban, I think the first thing to do is to make sure that they can slow the momentum,” Austin added.

He went on to express his faith in the Afghan Defense Forces’ capabilities, stating, “We’ll see what happens.”

The US has so far completed 90 percent of its troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, setting to meet the full-withdrawal plans by August 31.

Since the start of foreign troops withdrawal from Afghanistan, Taliban militants have increased their attacks and nearly tripled the number of districts the group controls.