Taliban raid TV news channel compound in Kabul, leave with weapons
The incident took place hours after Taliban took control of Afghanistan's presidential palace in Kabul following President Ashraf Ghani's escape to a central Asian nation.
Armed Taliban entered the compound of Afghanistan's Tolo News in Kabul on Monday and collected government-issued weapons before leaving with the ‘assurance’ of keeping the premises ‘safe’, the television network posted on its official Twitter handle.
The incident took place hours after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan's presidential palace following President Ashraf Ghani's escape to a central Asian country.
The Taliban fighters had on Sunday surrounded the capital Kabul and were waiting to take over the country.
Meanwhile, thousands of Afghans were seen gathering at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, the only exit points out of the country not in control of the Taliban yet, in a last-ditch effort to leave the war-torn nation, even as the administration shut the civilian airspace over Afghanistan.
In the ensuing chaos, at least five people died at the airport earlier in the day, news agency Reuters reported citing eyewitnesses who said US troops stationed there fired gunshots into the air to prevent frantic locals from boarding a civilian aircraft.
On the other hand, the US state department announced on Monday that the administration of Kabul airport is in the hands of American forces. US state department spokesman Ned Price announced it had completed the evacuation of its embassy in Afghanistan, lowering the American flag, Associated Press reported.
Visuals shared on various social media platforms showed hundreds of people running across the airport tarmac American soldiers fired warning shots into the air. A crowd was seen trying to board an aircraft while many latched on to the railings of a staircase leading to an aerobridge.
Another video, shared by Tolo News on Twitter, showed a swarm of people running on the tarmac while some clinged on to the body of an US military aircraft as it taxied on the runway.
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The rapidity with which the Taliban took over various provinces of the country, 20 years after they were routed, has stunned the US officials. Just days before the Taliban fighters entered Kabul with barely any resistance, an American military analysis had predicted it could take months for the Afghan capital to fall.
A Taliban spokesperson told the Associated Press that the they were holding talks aimed at forming an “open, inclusive Islamic government” in Afghanistan after they declared that the “war was over” and called for “peaceful relations” with the international community.
