After the evacuation of its embassy in Kabul, a US military helicopter lifted the embassy off the ground on Sunday, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky over the Afghan capital as US officials worked to prevent sensitive material from falling into the hands of the Taliban. Hours earlier, the Taliban announced they were entering Kabul on the outskirts of the capital on Sunday as helicopters raced to evacuate embassy staff. Plumes of smoke could be seen from the roof of the embassies from the city, and residents said diplomats destroyed sensitive documents.
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul warned of a deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and ordered American citizens to evacuate after reports of gunfire at Kabul airport. The warning came as UN troops evacuated diplomatic staff from the embassy and airport as the Taliban entered the Afghan capital and were on the verge of taking over the country. Early Sunday, confusion reigned in Washington as the Afghan Taliban invaded Kabul, the Afghan capital and U.S. officials scrambled to determine how safe the Americans were.
The Security Warning of the Embassy arrived as American troops were about to evacuate all diplomatic staff from the Saigon Embassy to the airport and as the Taliban entered Kabul, apparently on the verge of taking over the government. American forces focused their energy on the evacuation flights of Embassy staff and other personnel after Afghan officials showed video footage showing their Taliban counterparts accepting the handover of power in several cities.
On Sunday, refugees from Taliban-controlled provinces were seen removing belongings from taxis, and families stood in front of the embassy gates, and downtown was full of people stocking up on supplies. Taliban militants entered the city from all sides, Reuters reported early Sunday.
In a tweet, the Afghan presidential palace said in several places in and around the Afghan capital Kabul gunfire had been heard and security forces had taken control of the city in coordination with international partners. A tweet from Afghanistan’s presidential palace said that “shots were heard” at a “number of points” in Kabul and that “security forces” with “international partners” were in “coordination” to control the city of Kabul.
A Taliban spokesman said his fighters wanted to negotiate a peaceful handover of the Afghan capital Kabul. Taliban militants had already seized the main provincial capital of Jalalabad on Saturday and left Kabul as the only city under government control. Afghan officials and the Taliban said they also captured the provincial capital of Khost.
The Taliban entered Mazar-i-Sharif without resistance from security forces and escaped via a highway to Uzbekistan, about 80 kilometers (60 miles) north, provincial officials said. Afghan officials have said that the group also captured the provinces of Maidan Wardak, Khost, Kapisa and Parwan capitals as well as the last government-held border post. On Sunday, the Taliban took east of Jalalabad without a fight and took control of one of the main roads in landlocked Afghanistan.
WASHINGTON – On Sunday,- Taliban fighters entered the Afghan capital Kabul, the last city spared by the militant group after U.S. troops withdrew. On Sunday they began to take positions in Kabul, the capital and last major city still under government control, as government troops melted away and President fled the country.
Taliban fighters entered Kabul on Sunday demanding the central government’s unconditional surrender, the Associated Press news agency reported, as Afghans and foreigners rushed to the exit. On Sunday, Taliban insurgents entered the Afghan capital Kabul, an official from the Interior Ministry said, while the U.S. diplomats of its embassy were evacuated by helicopter.
The United States began evacuating diplomats and embassy staff in the city after Taliban militants stormed the city on Sunday. On Sunday, Afghanistan’s embattled President Ashraf Ghani fled the country as the Taliban invaded the capital and American troops evacuated thousands of US diplomats and Afghans from the embassy in Kabul. The Taliban were on the verge of taking full control of the Afghan capital Kabul after their fighters were ordered to enter the city on Sunday afternoon and the United States sent helicopters to evacuate diplomats from their embassy.
On Sunday, insurgents entered Kabul – in the United States evacuated diplomats from its embassy – helicopter – and government ministers said the power was in the hands of a transitional government. KABUL – On Sunday the- Taliban fighters, fleeing President Ashraf Ghani, seized the Afghan capital, triggering a massive effort to free Western diplomats and civilians as well as Afghans likely to be targetted by the new rulers. The announcement came on Sunday after the Taliban seized the last major city held by the Afghan central government, Kabul, and cut off the capital from the east.
In a statement, the Taliban said they had told the fighters to remain at city gates until a transition to a new government is completed. The U.S. official added that American troops had been secured at Kabul airport, though the latest development is not expected to have a direct impact on U.N. operations. When NATO invaded Kabul, the official said airport operations in the capital would continue.
On Sunday, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, published a statement confirming that Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani had left the country and announcing plans to form a new reconciliation council.
