Taliban Near Gates Of Kabul As Embassies Prepare For Evacuations

The first US Marines leading the evacuations landed at the civilian airport in Kabul, one of the few cities still in government hands after the Taliban took control of their spiritual heartland Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city.

The Taliban seized more major cities on Friday as they raced towards full control of Afghanistan and inched closer to Kabul, with the United States preparing to airlift thousands of people a day out of the capital. The first US Marines leading the evacuations landed at the civilian airport in Kabul, one of the few cities still in government hands after the Taliban took control of their spiritual heartland Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city. The scale and speed of the onslaught has shocked Afghans and the US-led alliance that poured billions into the country after toppling the Taliban in the wake of the September 11 attacks nearly 20 years ago. Days before a final US withdrawal ordered by President Joe Biden, individual soldiers, units and even whole divisions have surrendered -- handing the insurgents even more vehicles and military hardware to fuel their lightning advance.