Taliban enter Afghan capital after lightning offensive

Taliban rebels entered Kabul, President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan. Photo by REUTERS.

24 PHOTOS

1. A US Army Chinook helicopter flies over Kabul.

2. Taliban forces patrol a street in Herat.

3. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Acting Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi visit a military corps in Kabul.

4. An Afghan soldier stands in a military vehicle on a street in Kabul.

5. Taliban fighters ride the back of a car outside the Herat Citadel in Herat, western Afghanistan, in this screenshot from an undated social media video uploaded on August 12, 2021.

6. Afghan security forces guard the entrance gates of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

7. People arriving from Afghanistan head to the Friendship Gateway in the Pakistani-Afghan border town of Chaman.

8. People arrive from Afghanistan at the Gate of Friendship checkpoint in the Pakistani-Afghan border town of Chaman.

9. Afghan passengers go to the airport in Kabul.

10. Taliban forces patrol a street in Herat.

11. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at a meeting on security issues in Kabul.

12. Military transport helicopter CH-46 Sea Knight flies over Kabul.

13. Cars in line waiting to cross the Gate of Friendship checkpoint in the Pakistani-Afghan border town of Chaman.

14. A family with their belongings awaits crossing the Gate of Friendship checkpoint in the Pakistani-Afghan border town of Chaman.

15. A military helicopter flies over Kabul.

16. Acting Defense Minister of Afghanistan, General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi speaks to the camera in Kabul.

17. Taliban fighters walk towards the Herat Citadel in the western Afghan city of Herat in this screenshot from an undated social media video.

18. A US Army Apache helicopter flies over Kabul.

19. Soldiers of Pakistani paramilitaries stand guard in front of people who gather and wait to go to the Gate of Friendship checkpoint in the Pakistani-Afghan border town of Chaman.

20. A fighter stands guard next to a Taliban flag raised at a gate outside a police headquarters in Ghazni, Afghanistan, in this screenshot taken from a video released by the Taliban on August 12, 2021.

21. Pakistani army soldiers talk with people who are about to cross the Gate of Friendship checkpoint in the Pakistani-Afghan border town of Chaman.

22. Taliban fighters gather at a major road intersection in the city of Ghazni, Afghanistan, in this screenshot taken from a video released by the Taliban.

23. Taliban fighters record a message after the capture of Puli Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province.

24. Taliban fighters guard a checkpoint in Farah.