Taliban fighters enter Kabul; helicopters land at US Embassy
Taliban fighters entered the outskirts of Kabul on Sunday as panicked workers fled government offices and helicopters began landing at the U.S. Embassy in the Afghan capital, further tightening the militants’ grip on the country.
Three Afghan officials said that the fighters were in the districts of Kalakan, Qarabagh, and Paghman in the capital. The militants themselves didn’t acknowledge the advance, though they earlier took Jalalabad, near a major border crossing with Pakistan, the last major city other than Kabul not under their control.
In a nationwide offensive that has taken just over a week, the Taliban has defeated, co-opted, or sent Afghan security forces fleeing from wide swathes of the country, even with some air support by the U.S. military.
