Globalsecurity.org

The United States sent choppers to evacuate diplomats from its embassy in Kabul on Sunday as Taliban insurgents encircled the Afghan capital and demanded a peaceful transfer of power.

The Taliban* has made significant gains in Afghanistan in recent months following the US announcement of a troop withdrawal from the country. The terrorist group has seized nearly 90% of the country and surrounded the capital Kabul.

Earlier on Sunday, media reports said the Taliban* had captured Jalalabad, the capital of Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province and one of the two big cities in the country that remained under the Afghan government's control.

The Taliban* surge previously prompted a mass evacuation of diplomats from Kabul, as the militants managed to capture all major Afghan cities, except for the capital. The movement has already claimed to have seized over half of the nation's provincial centres amid the US withdrawal from the country.

Jalalabad, located in the eastern part of Afghanistan, is one of two big cities in the country that remained under Afghan government control, along with the capital city of Kabul.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, along with his vice president and other senior officials, flew out of Afghanistan on Sunday, setting the stage for Taliban insurgents to regain power in the country 20 years after a U.S.-led military invasion ousted them.

U.S. officials watching armed Taliban fighters move into the Afghan capital of Kabul say American forces "firmly control" the U.S. embassy and the city's international airport, even as the top U.S. diplomat described the scene as "heart-wrenching."

The Taliban swept through Afghanistan, taking most of its 34 Afghan provincial capitals in about nine days. The insurgent group reached Kabul early Sunday.

There was panic in the streets of the Afghan capital Kabul as reports came in that the Taliban were poised to enter the city.

United Nations agencies say they intend to stay in Afghanistan to provide aid to millions of Afghans facing the impending fall of the country to Taliban insurgents.

Local sources confirm that Taliban have taken over Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, leaving Kabul, the nation's capital, as the only major city in Afghanistan under government control.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday authorized another 1,000 troops -- in addition to the 3,000 ordered earlier last week -- to go to Afghanistan to assist in the evacuation of U.S. personnel and other allies from Kabul as Taliban insurgents drew closer to the Afghan capital. in addition to the 3,000 ordered earlier last week -- to go to Afghanistan to assist in

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