The Taliban entered Afghan capital Kabul and took over the Afghan Presidential Palace, completing its takeover of a country that has been swiftly falling under its control since May this year.
Taliban commanders took over the palace within hours of both President Ashraf Ghani and his deputy, Vice-President Amarullah Saleh, fleeing the country. The two leaders left the country after the Taliban announced it was on the outskirts of the city and was negotiating a peaceful surrender with the Western-backed government.
The Taliban's swift advances come as countries across the world emptied their embassies and hurried to fly out diplomats, sensitive papers, and equipment.
Any hopes of a repeat of 2001 vanished after the northern citadels manned largely by non-Pashtuns also folded up to the Taliban. Its warlords, Abdul Rashid Dostum and Atta Mohammed Noor, fled the country claiming a conspiracy to trap and kill them.
Taliban fighters began moving towards Kabul following the overnight collapse of the two remaining cities of Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad.
Sources here said the airport was still open and that civilian flights are still allowed to land. But India has on standby military transporters if the security situation worsens.
American diplomats were evacuated from their embassy by chopper after a lightning advance by the militants, who were poised to run Afghanistan again 20 years after they were toppled by US-led forces following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Ali Ahmad Jalali, a US-based academic and former Afghan interior minister, could be named head of an interim administration in Kabul, three diplomatic sources said, though it was unclear whether the Taliban had agreed.
Known during their past rule for keeping girls out of school and their hardline practice of Islamic law, including punishments of amputation, stoning, and hanging, the Taliban appear to be trying to project a more modern face.
Another spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the group would protect the rights of women, as well as freedoms for media workers and diplomats.
"We assure the people, particularly in the city of Kabul, that their properties, their lives are safe," Shaheen told the BBC, saying a transfer of power was expected in days.
We have contingency plans: Govt sources on evacuation of Indian staff from embassy in Kabul
The ease of the Taliban's advance, despite billions of dollars spent by the United States and others to build up local Afghan government forces, has stunned the world.
Just last week, a US intelligence estimate said Kabul could hold out for at least three months.
Power would be handed over to a transitional administration, the government's acting interior minister, Abdul Sattar Mirzakawal, tweeted on the Tolo news channel. "There won't be an attack on the city, it is agreed that there will be a peaceful handover," he said without elaborating.
Many of Kabul's streets were choked by cars and people either trying to rush home or reach the airport, residents said.
"Some people have left their keys in the car and have started walking to the airport," one resident told Reuters by phone. Another said: "People are all going home in fear of fighting".
Afghans had fled the provinces to enter Kabul in recent days, fearing a return to hardline Islamist rule.
Early on Sunday, refugees from Taliban-controlled provinces were seen unloading belongings from taxis and families stood outside embassy gates, while the city's downtown was packed with people stocking up on supplies.
Asked for comment, the president's office said it "cannot say anything about Ashraf Ghani's movement for security reasons". Up until Ghani and Saleh point when boarded the plane, the presidential palace had reiterated that it had the situation under control.
Taliban claims control over Afghan Presidential Palace after President Ashraf Ghani, deputy Saleh leave Afghanistan
Taliban rebels reach Kabul after lightning offensive; militants say they are in talks with government for surrender; American diplomats being evacuated by helicopter; eastern city of Jalalabad falls without a fight; Islamist group seeks to project more moderate image The Taliban said they had...
