In photos: Taliban take control as Afghans attempt to flee to the chaotic Kabul airport
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed. Hundreds of Afghans flooded Kabul’s airport in the dark, desperate to leave on one of the last commercial flights before U.S. forces took over air traffic control. Five people were killed in chaos at Kabul airport on Monday, witnesses said, as people tried to flee a day after Taliban insurgents seized the Afghan capital and declared the war against foreign and local forces over.
A US soldier (C) point his gun towards an Afghan passenger at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images
A man pulls a girl to get inside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.STRINGER/Reuters
US soldiers stand guard as Afghan people wait at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images
A Taliban fighter sits on the back of a vehicle with a machine gun in front of the main gate leading to the Afghan presidential palace, in Kabul, Afghanistan.Rahmat Gul/The Associated Press
A member of Taliban forces inspects the area outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.STRINGER/Reuters
Taliban fighters stand guard in front of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan.Rahmat Gul/The Associated Press
Women with their children try to get inside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.STRINGER/Reuters
Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images
Men try to get inside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.STRINGER/Reuters
People walk past parked vehicles as they head to cross the Friendship Gate crossing point at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Chaman, Pakistan.STRINGER/Reuters
Pakistan soldiers check documents of travelers crossing the border to Afghanistan through a crossing point in Chaman, Pakistan.Jafar Khan/The Associated Press
A volunteer carries an injured man as other people can be seen waiting at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images
US soldiers stand guard as in the background Afghan people wait at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images
Afghan passengers sit as they wait to leave the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images
Afghan passengers sit inside a plane as they wait to leave the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images
This satellite photo from Planet Labs Inc. shows swarms of people on the tarmac at Kabul International Airport, also known as Hamid Karzai International Airport.Planet Labs Inc./The Associated Press
This handout satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows a traffic jam and crowds, during the chaotic scene underway at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.-/AFP/Getty Images
A Taliban fighter runs towards crowd outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.REUTERS TV/Reuters
Afghan people move towards the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images
Afghan people climb up on a plane and sit by the door as they wait at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images