In Pictures

Gallery|Taliban

Kabul the day after the Taliban takeover

Taliban fighters patrol the streets of Kabul a day after taking over the country following President Ashraf Ghani’s departure.

Taliban fighters ride on a police vehicle outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul [Reuters]
Published On 16 Aug 2021

The Taliban is in control of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and conceded power to the armed group 20 years after it was deposed in a US-led military invasion.

The astonishingly quick collapse of the government, with the Taliban taking over the presidential palace on Sunday night, triggered fear and panic in the capital.

Thousands of people rushed to the airport trying to flee the country as they feared the Taliban’s hardline rule.

After police and other government forces gave up their posts in Kabul on Sunday, Taliban fighters took over checkpoints across the city and entered the presidential palace.

Taliban fighters with rifles slung over their shoulders also walked through the streets of the Green Zone, the formerly heavily fortified district that houses most embassies and international organisations.

Taliban fighters take control of the Afghan presidential palace after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. [Zabi Karimi/AP Photo]
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Taliban fighters stand outside the Ministry of Interior in Kabul. [Reuters]
A Taliban fighter stands guard as people walk past at the entrance of Hamid Karzai International Airport. [Reuters]
The Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority said on Monday that Kabul airspace had been released to the military and that it advised transit aircraft to reroute, according to a Notice to Airmen on its website. [Reuters]
People walk to the airport to flee the country after rumours that foreign countries are evacuating people, even without visas, after the Taliban took control of Kabul. [EPA]
Afghans crowd the tarmac of Kabul airport to flee the country as the Taliban take control of Afghanistan. All commercial flights have been cancelled. [AFP]
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Afghans crowd the airport as US soldiers stand guard in Kabul. US troops fired shots into the air as thousands of Afghans crowded onto the tarmac in the hope of catching any flight out. [Shakib Rahmani/AFP]
Taliban fighters ride on a vehicle in Kabul. It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the country after a lightning sweep that ended in Kabul.[Reuters]
A Taliban fighter stands outside the Ministry of Interior in Kabul. After initially ordering fighters not to enter the capital, a Taliban spokesman confirmed they had entered Kabul on Sunday night to "ensure security". [Reuters]
Taliban fighters ride on a police vehicle in Kabul. [Reuters]
Taliban fighters stand guard along a roadside near Zanbaq Square in Kabul. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
A Taliban fighter sits on his motorcycle along a roadside at Shahr-e-Naw in Kabul. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
Taliban fighters stand guard at an entrance of the green zone area in Kabul. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
People struggle to jump over the boundary wall of Hamid Karzai International Airport to flee the country after rumors that foreign countries are evacuating people even without visas. [EPA]
Taliban fighters stand guard in the main gate leading to Afghan presidential palace in Kabul. [Rahmat Gul/AP Photo]
Taliban fighters in front of the Hamid Karzai International Airport. [Rahmat Gul/AP Photo]