route. and the 1,000 already there. the orders come as the taliban gained even more ground, today, closing in on kabul. we have two reports, tonight, and we begin with kelly cobiella in kabul. reporter: tonight, president biden ordering more u.s. troops back into afghanistan. raising the total, now, to 5,000 personnel. already on the ground at a military compound at kabul airport for what the pentagon says is a limited mission to get americans out the u.s. ambassador and commander for u.s. forces in afghanistan, meeting with president ashraf ghani today and the head of afghan special forces now, in charge of defending kabul, as the taliban close in on the capital, reportedly seven miles away but not yet fighting in this propaganda video, they claim they ambushed an
shocked the world. the militant group took its first provincial capital one week ago today now their territory looks like this, closing in on kabul. the pentagon now scrambling to send 3,000 troops to the kabul airport, most arriving by the end of this weekend, a temporary mission to get embassy staff out safely the deteriorating conditions are a factor, a big factor in why the president has approved this mission. reporter: as the u.s. embassy is ordering staff to destroy sensitive documents and computers, according to a memo obtained by npr. panicked afghans are rushing to the capital with aid agencies warning of a humanitarian crisis. this is my house. reporter: this man s house was bombed it s completely destroyed. completely destroyed. no future. reporter: these men all worked for nato as construction workers, cooks, interpreters. we ve tried for more than past six
firmly in control of kandahar, the second largest city in afghanistan. the militants expanding their territory in the south, north and the west. where they seized the historic city of herat, and waits military commander. in this taliban propaganda video, the man who fought the taliban in 2001, says he hopes the militants will bring peace, stability and security. the lightning fast takeover has shocked the world. the militant group took its first provincial capital one week ago today. now, their territory looks like this, closing in on kabul. the pentagon scrambling to send 3000 troops to the kabul airport, most arriving by the end of this weekend, a temporary mission to get embassy staff out safely. the deteriorating conditions are a factor, a big factor in
consolidating territory in the south, north, and west. the taliban took its first provincial capital one week ago. now their territory looks like this, closing in on kabul. panicked afghans are rushing to the capital as aid agencies warn of a humanitarian crisis. at least 21,000 people have been forced to flee from their homes and humanitarian needs are growing by the hour. reporter: these men all worked for nato as construction workers, cooks, interpreters. we translated, we put them in the jail. because of that, if they arrest us, they will kill us. reporter: many here feel abandoned and betrayed. nbc news has spoken directly to a taliban commander on the ground here in afghanistan. he said that the taliban is aware of the presence of u.s. forces on the ground and said that if they try anything, they