Escape from Kabul: Diplomats flee US Embassy in Chinook helicopters as Taliban fighters storm Afghan capital - in stark echoes of the Fall of Saigon
This is the moment US diplomats are seen being evacuated from Kabul just hours before Taliban forces stormed the Afghan capital.
In a stark scene mirroring that of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam war, a US Air Force helicopter was seen taking off from the US Embassy earlier today.
The Chinook helicopter was seen taking to the skies above the city - just like in 1975 when a US Marine helicopter was seen evacuating embassy staff from Vietnamese capital.
Smoke was also seen rising from near to the US embassy earlier today as security staff work to burn any important documents, including CIA information, or material that could be used 'in propaganda efforts'. The US flag is soon expected to be lowered, signaling the official closure of the embassy.
It comes as the US steps up its evacuation of Kabul with Taliban fighters quickly moving in 'from all sides'. Shots were heard on the outskirts of the capital earlier today, much earlier than first anticipated, before fighters poured into the city.
US Intelligence officials had expected Kabul to hold out for three months, while UK ministers were hoping they had until the end of the month.
Leaders of the extremist group have today demanded the Afghan government surrender the city to them in a bid to avoid bloodshed - adding the chilling warning 'we've not declared a ceasefire'.
As many as 10,000 US citizens are being evacuated from the city. Around 3,000 US troops are being sent to aid the mission.
Meanwhile, Special Forces units are joining 600 British troops from the 16 Air Assault Brigade, including 150 Paratroopers, while RAF planes are being scrambled from around the world, to airlift more than 500 British Government employees out of Kabul.
It is believed that by Saturday night that the number of UK officials still in Afghanistan had been reduced to the 'low tens' - including ambassador Sir Laurie Bristow.
The UK Government says it aims to get British ambassador Sir Laurie and his remaining embassy staff out by Sunday night - amid fears the Taliban could seize Kabul airport within days.
There are also fears about the safety of thousands of translators who are concerned they may be viewed as 'traitors' by the extremist Taliban.
It is understood the plans is to evacuate the translators and their families, though there are concerns that the evacuation efforts may be hampered if fighters quickly reach Kabul airport.
Russia meanwhile today confirmed it did not intend to evacuate its embassy staff in Kabul.
A twin-rotor US Air Force Chinook was seen taking off from the US Embassy earlier today, as the evacuation efforts rapidly pick up pace
The Chinook helicopter was seen taking to the skies above the city - just like in 1975 when a US Marine helicopter was seen evacuating embassy staff from Vietnamese capital (pictured)
The US Embassy in Kabul has been ordered to destroy sensitive materials and evacuate as Taliban fighters move in on the capital
Anti-missile decoy flares are deployed as U.S. Black Hawk military helicopters and a dirigible balloon fly over the city of Kabul, Afghanistan
Security Engineers will stay behind as they continue to burn, shred and pulverize 20 years worth of intelligence stored on electronics and in documents. Pictured: Smoke rises next to the US Embassy in Kabul today
The US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan has been the intelligence hub of the US's war on terror
Special Forces units are joining 600 British troops from the 16 Air Assault Brigade, including 150 Paratroopers, to begin airlifting more than 500 British Government employees out of Kabul. Pictured: Members of Joint Forces Headquarters get prepared to deploy to Afghanistan
The Taliban is now closing in on the capital of Kabul from all sides, now controlling territories in the north, south, east and west
The UK Government says it aims to get British ambassador Sir Laurie Bristow (pictured) and his embassy staff out by Sunday night - amid fears the Taliban could seize Kabul airport within days
As the Taliban advance continues, following the decision by the US to pull its troops out, gunfire was today heard near the presidential palace in Kabul.
The militants were seen in the districts of Kalakan, Qarabagh and Paghman hours after taking control of Jalalabad, the last major Afghan city to fall to the insurgents.
The terror group said in a statement they do not intend to take the capital 'by force' after entering the outskirts of the city.
An Afghan official earlier confirmed Jalalabad fell under Taliban control without a fight early Sunday morning when the governor surrendered, saying it was 'the only way to save civilian lives.'
Its fall has also given the Taliban control of a road leading to the Pakistan city of Peshawar, one of the main highways into landlocked Afghanistan.
Jalalabad is close to the Pakistani border and just 80 miles from Kabul - the Afghanistan capital home to more than four million people and currently the only remaining major city still under government control.
Besides Kabul, just seven other provincial capitals out of the country's 34 are yet to fall to the Taliban.
Concerns are mounting over how long Kabul can stave off the Taliban insurgents as they have captured the northern stronghold of Mazar-i-Sharif, the second-largest city Kandahar and third-largest city Herat all within the last 48 hours.
The Taliban are now closing in on the capital from all sides, controlling territories to the North, South, East and West and advancing to just seven miles south of the city.
Hoda Ahmadi, a lawmaker from Logar province, told The Associated Press that the Taliban have reached the Char Asyab district on the outskirts of the capital, which was gripped by blackouts, communications outages and street fighting overnight Saturday as the country descends into chaos.
A US defense official has warned it could be only a matter of days before the insurgent fighters take control of Kabul.
A Taliban fighter sits inside an Afghan National Army (ANA) vehicle along the roadside in Laghman province on Sunday
Taliban fighters drive the vehicle through the streets of Laghman province Sunday - the same day Jalalabad fell
Residents and fighters swarm an Afghan National Army vehicle on a roadside in Laghman province as the insurgents take control of major cities
Today the Taliban said they aim to take the city, but say they have no plans to take Kabul 'by force'.
Leaders of the extremist group say they don't want a 'single Afghan to be injured or killed' during the hostile takeover - but warned 'we've not signed a ceasefire yet'.
Just last week, US intelligence estimates expected the city to be able to hold out for at least three months.
A senior US official told the New York Times the Taliban have warned the US it must cease airstrikes or else its extremist fighters will move in on US buildings.
Joe Biden has vowed that any action that puts Americans at risk 'will be met with a swift and strong US military response.'
Meanwhile, in the UK, Boris Johnson is facing calls for a last-ditch intervention to prevent the complete collapse of Afghanistan.
The lead elements of the British force sent to evacuate the remaining UK nationals were understood to be in the capital amid fears it could fall within days or even hours.
But amid a hurried scramble for safety, helicopters were seen landing at the US embassy to ferry away remaining personnel.
In the UK, there was deep anger among many MPs at the way - 20 years after the first international forces entered Afghanistan - the country was being abandoned to its fate.
The chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat said it was 'the biggest single foreign policy disaster' since Suez, while Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood said it was a humiliation for the West.
Despite the decision of the Biden administration to withdraw the remaining US troops which triggered the collapse, Mr Ellwood said it was still not too late to turn the situation around.
He called for the despatch of the Royal Navy carrier strike group to the region and urged the Prime Minister to convene an emergency conference of 'like-minded nations' to see what could be done.
'I plead with the Prime Minister to think again. We have an ever-shrinking window of opportunity to recognise where this country is going as a failed state,' he told Times Radio.
'We can turn this around but it requires political will and courage. This is our moment to step forward.
'We could prevent this, otherwise history will judge us very, very harshly in not stepping in when we could do and allowing the state to fail.'
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