Nato boss blames Afghan leadership for collapse of armed forces

Flags of Nato member countries flutter during a summit in Brussels (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg is blaming a failure of Afghan leadership for the swift collapse of the country’s armed forces but says the alliance must also uncover flaws in its military training effort.

Mr Stoltenberg said “the Afghan political leadership failed to stand up” and that “this failure of Afghan leadership led to the tragedy we are witnessing today”.