Live Updates: US embassy flag removed, Taliban to declare Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
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The US flag has been removed from the US embassy in Kabul - a final step in the evacuation of the embassy.
Insurgents reportedly seized control of the presidential palace.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country after the Taliban advanced on the capital.
The US flag has been removed from the US embassy in Kabul - a final step in the evacuation of the embassy
According to CNN, the US flag was taken down at the embassy in one of the final steps of its evacuation Sunday. According to the report, the evacuation occurred rapidly and is expected to be completed this evening.
Individuals evacuated from the embassy were taken to the Kabul airport to be flown out of the country, according to CNN. A source familiar with the situation told CNN that security contractors remained at the embassy but would be leaving soon.
Biden was silent for hours as Taliban celebrated defeat of US-backed government.
The White House made a public statement about rapid developments in Afghanistan after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, the Taliban took hold of the presidential palace, and the US embassy lowered its flag.
"This morning, the President and Vice President met with their national security team and senior officials to hear updates on the draw down of our civilian personnel in Afghanistan, evacuations of SIV applicants and other Afghan allies, and the ongoing security situation in Kabul," a tweet from the White House said.
GOP leaders slammed Biden, who traveled to Camp David Friday, for not addressing the country sooner.
"Why is Joe Biden on vacation?" asked Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on "Sunday Morning Futures." "I don't think he's taken one question from the press this entire weekend, so this is a frightening situation."
The Taliban is expected to rename Afghanistan, declaring it the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The Taliban is expected to declare the country the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in a ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul, a Taliban official announced on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban ruled the country under the same name.
A chaotic video posted to Snapchat showed a crowd scrambling up into US cargo plane readying to take off.
Crowds surged onto the ramp of what appears to be a US C-17 heavy transport aircraft at Hamid Karzai International Airport. Passengers can be seen lifting people on the tarmac up by their hands; normally passengers walk up the lowered ramp or up a mobile staircase along the plane's side.
Aircrews normally limit plane capacity for available seats, suggesting the swarm to evacuate before the Taliban arrives is overwhelming military crews.
US citizens were instructed to shelter in place amid reports that the airport is taking fire.
A security alert has been placed for the US Embassy in Kabul.
The security situation at the airport — where most diplomats were expected to be evacuated to — is "deteriorating rapidly," the alert says. According to the alert, "there are reports of the airport taking fire."
"We are instructing U.S. citizens to shelter in place," the alert warns. "The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has suspended consular operations effective immediately. Do not come to the Embassy or airport at this time."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that US embassy staff in Kabul are leaving the facility and moving to the airport. The US plans to completely pull all personnel from its embassy over the next two or three days, both Reuters and CNN reported.
Afghan presidential palace under Taliban control
Video shows thousands of prisoners, reportedly including Islamic State and al Qaeda fighters, freed from Kabul jail by the Taliban
Video published by an independent Afghan news agency that supports the Taliban appears to shows thousands of inmates being released from prison.
These inmates include former Islamic State and al-Qaeda fighters.
Members of the Taliban and al-Qaeda have been held in maximum security at Bagram airbase, home to the largest prison in Afghanistan.
Taliban set to retake power in Afghanistan 20 years after being ousted by US-led forces
The Taliban is set to retake power in Afghanistan 20 years after being ousted by US-led forces, with the country's president fleeing by plane and the militant group pushing into Kabul after a rapid offensive.
Afghanistan will have a "peaceful transfer of power" to a transitional government led by the Taliban, acting Afghan Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal said Sunday.
In a video message, broadcast on local news outlet Tolo TV, Mirzakwal said: "The Afghan people should not worry... There will be no attack on the city and there will be a peaceful transfer of power."Read Full Story
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flees Afghanistan for Tajikistan as Taliban fighters enter Kabul, reports say
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his immediate team have left Afghanistan for Tajikistan, according to Afghan government sources speaking to several media outlets.
TOLO TV, a local TV network, first reported that Ghani, 72, had gone into exile.
Reuters later confirmed that he had fled the country and that the Taliban was checking in on his whereabouts, citing a senior Afghan interior ministry official and a Taliban representative.
Asked for comment, the president's office said it "cannot say anything about Ashraf Ghani's movement for security reasons."
Trump blasts Biden for not 'following the plan' his administration crafted for Afghanistan
During his 2016 campaign and continuing at the White House, former President Donald Trump said he would keep the United States "out of endless and costly foreign wars," and this weekend as the Taliban advanced on Kabul, he criticized President Joe Biden's foreign policy "weakness."
"He ran out of Afghanistan instead of following the plan our Administration left for him — a plan that protected our people and our property, and ensured the Taliban would never dream of taking our Embassy or providing a base for new attacks against America," he said in a statement. "The withdrawal would be guided by facts on the ground."
Biden pushed back on Trump's criticism, alleging that the former president had "left the Taliban in the strongest position militarily since 2001."
Helicopters are evacuating staff from the US embassy in Kabul as the Taliban enter the Afghan capital 'from all sides'
The US has begun evacuating diplomats and staff from its embassy in Kabul as Taliban militants stormed the Afghan capital early Sunday.
"We have a small batch of people leaving now as we speak. A majority of the staff are ready to leave," a US official told Reuters. "The embassy continues to function."
Helicopters were photographed leaving the embassy compound. Two US military officials told the Associated Press that smoke could be seen rising from the roof of the building as officials destroyed sensitive documents.
Read the original article on Insider
