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Live Updates: Taliban enters Kabul, Afghanistan president flees, diplomatic staff evacuated

Live Updates: Taliban enters Kabul, Afghanistan president flees, diplomatic staff evacuated

Kadia Tubman,Yelena Dzhanova

The US embassy in Kabul is shredding documents and disposing of American flags over fears the building could soon be overrun by the Taliban.Rahmat Gul/ Associated Press

The Taliban has seized control of most of Afghanistan and reached the capital city of Kabul on Sunday.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country as insurgents advanced and ordered the unconditional surrender of government officials.
Afghanistan will have a "peaceful transfer of power" to the Taliban, the country's interior minister said.
US embassy officials and international diplomats are being evacuated to safety.

Taliban set to retake power in Afghanistan 20 years after being ousted by US-led forces

Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Ghazni, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Aug. 13, 2021 AP Photo/Gulabuddin Amiri

The Taliban is set to retake power in Afghanistan 20 years after being ousted by US-led forces, with the country's president fleeing by plane and the militant group pushing into Kabul after a rapid offensive.

Afghanistan will have a "peaceful transfer of power" to a transitional government led by the Taliban, acting Afghan Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal said Sunday.

In a video message, broadcast on local news outlet Tolo TV, Mirzakwal said: "The Afghan people should not worry... There will be no attack on the city and there will be a peaceful transfer of power."Read Full Story

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flees Afghanistan for Tajikistan as Taliban fighters enter Kabul, reports say

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani (Reuters) Reuters

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his immediate team have left Afghanistan for Tajikistan, according to Afghan government sources speaking to several media outlets.

TOLO TV, a local TV network, first reported that Ghani, 72, had gone into exile.

Reuters later confirmed that he had fled the country and that the Taliban was checking in on his whereabouts, citing a senior Afghan interior ministry official and a Taliban representative.

Asked for comment, the president's office said it "cannot say anything about Ashraf Ghani's movement for security reasons."

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Helicopters are evacuating staff from the US embassy in Kabul as the Taliban enter the Afghan capital 'from all sides'

A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. Helicopters are landing at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as diplomatic vehicles leave the compound amid the Taliban advanced on the Afghan capital. AP Photo/Rahmat Gul

The US has begun evacuating diplomats and staff from its embassy in Kabul as Taliban militants stormed the Afghan capital early Sunday.

"We have a small batch of people leaving now as we speak. A majority of the staff are ready to leave," a US official told Reuters. "The embassy continues to function."

Helicopters were photographed leaving the embassy compound. Two US military officials told the Associated Press that smoke could be seen rising from the roof of the building as officials destroyed sensitive documents.