Victorious Taliban commander claims he 'spent eight years in Guantanamo Bay' in triumphant speech from Kabul palace as Islamists seize Afghanistan - while thousands fight to flee country in chaotic scenes at airport
A Taliban commander claimed he spent eight years in Guantanamo Bay in a triumphant speech from inside the Presidential Palace in Kabul as the militants declared an Islamic state of Afghanistan after the country's president joined thousands of Afghan nationals in a mass exodus.
Taliban fighters marched into the ancient palace on Sunday and demanded a 'peaceful transfer of power' as the capital city descended into chaos, with US helicopters evacuating diplomats from the embassy in scenes echoing the 1975 Fall of Saigon which followed the Vietnam War.
There were chaotic scenes at Kabul airport where thousands of desperate Afghans are gathering in an attempt to flee the country. Fighting and stampedes broke out between passengers before commercial flights were stopped and only military planes departed the terminals which are now guarded by US troops.
The Al-Jazeera news channel livestreamed the press conference from inside the palace, which showed a group of Taliban fighters sitting at the President's desk before a fighter claimed he was a former inmate of the US-controlled Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba.
Established by George W Bush in 2002, suspected terrorists have been detained without trial and tortured at the facility. Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep the centre open indefinitely in 2018, while in February the Biden administration vowed to shut Guantanamo down.
A spokesman for the Taliban's political office told Al-Jazeera TV on Sunday that the war is over in Afghanistan and that the type of rule and the form of regime will be clear soon.
'We assure everyone that we will provide safety for citizens and diplomatic missions. We are ready to have a dialogue with all Afghan figures and will guarantee them the necessary protection,' spokesman Mohammad Naeem told the Qatar-based channel.
He said the group does not think foreign forces will repeat 'their failed experience in Afghanistan again,' adding: 'We move with responsibility in every step and make sure to have peace with everyone... We are ready to deal with the concerns of the international community through dialogue'.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen vowed there would be 'no revenge' against those who worked with the previous Afghan government, but refused to guarantee that Afghans would be allowed to flee. 'Our policy is that no one should leave the country' he told the BBC. 'We need all Afghans to stay.'
US-backed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country for Tajikistan, effectively ceding power to the Taliban and bringing the 20-year Western occupation of Afghanistan to an end, while thousands of Afghan nationals rushed to the Pakistan border in a bid to escape Islamist rule.
Mr Ghani said in a Facebook post that he escaped Afghanistan to 'prevent a flood of bloodshed', claiming 'countless patriots would be martyred and the city of Kabul would be destroyed' if he had remained. He did not disclose details on his current location.
Foreigners in Kabul were told to either leave or register their presence with Taliban administrators, while RAF planes were scrambled to evacuate 6,000 British diplomats, citizens and Afghan translators, and the British Ambassador was moved to a safe place. The US and French Ambassadors have already been evacuated as the US rushes to rescue more than 10,000 of its citizens.
Italy's defence ministry said a first military plane would arrive on Sunday to begin 'emergency evacuation' operations, while Denmark, Norway and Finland are temporarily shutting their Kabul embassies, with Finland to offer asylum to 170 local staff and their families.
However, the Kremlin's envoy said that there are no plans to evacuate the Russian Embassy in Kabul, as China, Russia, Pakistan and Turkey all appear set to formally recognise the rule of the Sunni extremist group which was created after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
The United States on Sunday led more than 65 nations in urging the resurgent Taliban to let Afghans leave the country, warning of accountability for any abuses.
'The United States joins the international community in affirming that Afghans and international citizens who wish to depart must be allowed to do so,' Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on Twitter as the State Department released a statement signed by its close allies.
'Those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan bear responsibility - and accountability - for the protection of human life,' the joint statement said.
Bagram airbase was also surrendered to the Taliban by Afghan troops, despite the hundreds of billions of dollars spent by the US and NATO to build up Afghan security forces. Upon its takeover, hundreds of Taliban and Islamic State terrorists being held prisoner there were freed.
Commercial flights were later suspended after sporadic gunfire erupted at the airport, according to two senior US military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations. Evacuations continued on military flights, but the halt to commercial traffic closed off one of the last routes available for Afghans fleeing the country.
As night fell, Taliban fighters deployed across Kabul, taking over abandoned police posts and pledging to maintain law and order during the transition. Residents reported looting in parts of the city, including in the upscale diplomatic district, and messages circulating on social media advised people to stay inside and lock their gates.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the US decision to withdraw from Afghanistan had 'accelerated' the current crisis and announced his government's priority is to get UK nationals out 'as fast as we can' after chairing an emergency Cobra meeting in Downing Street. He also vowed that the Middle Eastern state must not become a 'breeding ground for terror' again.
But he was slammed by Tory MPs - including ex-soldiers Tom Tugendhat, Johnny Mercer and Tobias Ellwood - for presiding over Britain's 'biggest single foreign policy disaster' since Suez and called for UK troops to be redeployed. They also called the crisis a humiliation for the West.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was accused of 'going AWOL' after spending the past week on holiday abroad while the Afghanistan crisis unfolded. The British Foreign Office said he was returning to the UK on Sunday and was 'personally overseeing' the department's response to the situation.
President Joe Biden vowed that any action that puts Americans at risk 'will be met with a swift and strong US military response'. He also swiped his predecessor Donald Trump for the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, claiming he left the group 'in the strongest position militarily since 2001'.
As Kabul fell to the Taliban:
- Hopeful passengers gathered on Kabul Airport's runway to escape from Afghanistan;
- Britain's ambassador to Afghanistan remains in Kabul, despite an SAS-backed operation to evacuate embassy staff amid a Taliban takeover of the city;
- The US ambassador and embassy staff are fleeing Afghanistan after Taliban forces stormed Kabul;
- Donald Trump called for President Biden to resign on Sunday over the swift Taliban takeover of Afghanistan;
- President Biden ordered about 5,000 troops to help evacuate US staff 'and other allied personnel';
- PM Boris Johnson said said the US decision to withdraw from Afghanistan had 'accelerated' the crisis;
- British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was forced to return to the UK from his holiday abroad;
- Tory MPs called fallout from Anglo-US withdrawal 'Britain's worst foreign policy disaster since Suez';
- MPs are expected to to vent their anger and frustration when they return to Westminster on Wednesday for an emergency recall of Parliament to discuss the crisis;
- President Biden defended the withdrawal of US troops and blamed his predecessor Donald Trump for a deal that left the warlords 'in the strongest position militarily since 2001';
- General David Petraeus said President Biden must take responsibility for decision to withdraw;
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted the scene in Afghanistan is not comparable to the fall of Saigon as he diverted blame for the Taliban takeover on Republicans.
A Taliban commander claimed he spent eight years in Guantanamo Bay in a victory speech from inside the Presidential Palace in Kabul as the militants declared an Islamic state of Afghanistan
Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country
Taliban fighters stormed the ancient palace on Sunday and demanded a 'peaceful transfer of power' as the capital city descended into chaos
The militants declared an Islamic state of Afghanistan after the country's president joined thousands of Afghan nationals in a mass exodus
Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country
In a stunning rout, the Taliban seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week, despite the billions of dollars spent by the US and NATO over nearly two decades to build up Afghan security forces
Taliban militants were pictured inside the Presidential Palace in Kabul after the Afghan president fled the country
The Taliban has said they will soon declare the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the presidential palace in Kabul. Pictured: militants sitting in the governor's HQ in the city of Sharana
Taliban militants hoisted their flag as they sat around a table in a government building on Sunday
Harrowing pictures show people waiting near Kabul Airport's runway to escape from the country's capital - as the Taliban entered the presidential palace
Images show Kabul Airport descending into chaos as the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan continues
A US Chinook helicopter flies over the city of Kabul as diplomatic vehicles leave the compound after the Taliban advanced on the Afghan capital
UK military personnel boarding an RAF Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton on August 14, 2021 to travel to Afghanistan
Bagram airbase, holding ISIS and Taliban fighters, was also surrendered by troops despite the hundreds of billions of dollars spent by the US and NATO over nearly two decades to build up Afghan security forces
Militants seized the ancient palace on Sunday and demanded a 'peaceful transfer of power'
Left: a Taliban militant riding a motorbike in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. Right: two militants embracing
An Afghan soldier stands in a military vehicle on a street in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2021
Afghan security forces patrol in the Afghan capital of Kabul, August 15, 2021
The militants were seen in the districts of Kalakan, Qarabagh and Paghman hours after taking control of Jalalabad, the most recent major Afghan city to fall to the insurgents as they make huge gains across Afghanistan
Militants seized the ancient palace on Sunday and demanded a 'peaceful transfer of power' as they moved into the capital, which has been gripped by panic throughout the day as US helicopters raced overhead as its diplomats were evacuated from the embassy. Bagram air base, holding ISIS and Taliban fighters, was also surrendered by troops on Sunday despite the hundreds of billions of dollars spent by the US and NATO over the past two decades to build up Afghan security forces
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
A Taliban fighter rides a motorbike through a street in Laghman province. A US defense official has warned it could be only a matter of days before the insurgent fighters take control of Kabul
Smoke rises next to the US Embassy in Kabul after Taliban fighters entered the outskirts of the Afghan capital
Soldiers from Afghan Security forces travel on a armed vehicle along a road in Panjshir province of Afghanistan
Armed humvee vehicles of Afghan Security forces are pictured along a path in Panjshir province
Taliban fighters stand armed with guns in Laghman province after making major gains across Afghanistan in the wake of the US departure
Afghans wait in long lines for hours to try to withdraw money in front of Kabul Bank after the Taliban sought to gain control of the capital
The Taliban have now taken over Jalalabad, spelling the fall of the last major Afghan city other than Kabul to the extremist fighters as the US withdraws its troops from the country. Pictured Taliban forces patrol Herat Saturday
Afghan passengers walk toward the airport in Kabul after the Taliban made huge gains across the country in the wake of the US military departure
Anti-missile decoy flares are deployed as US Black Hawk military helicopters and a dirigible balloon fly over the city of Kabul
Foreigners in Kabul have been told they should either leave or register their presence with Taliban administrators, while RAF planes were scrambled to evacuate 6,000 Britons
Taliban fighters sit on a vehicle along the street in Jalalabad province after seizing the city as the terror group makes huge gains
A Pakistani soldier stands guard as stranded Afghan nationals return to Afghanistan at the border crossing point in Chaman
Taliban forces patrol a street in Herat, Afghanistan on Friday. Kabul, the Afghanistan capital, is now the only remaining major city still under government control
Residents and fighters swarm an Afghan National Army vehicle on a roadside in Laghman province as the insurgents take control of major cities
Taliban fighters stand guard on a roadside in Herat. 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
Taliban militants gather a day after taking control of Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Saturday. The second-largest city in Afghanistan was taken Friday
A man sells Taliban flags in Herat province, west of Kabul, Saturday - one day after the city was taken by the extremist group
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