The first US Marines leading the evacuations landed at the civilian airport in Kabul, one of the few cities still in government hands after the Taliban took control of Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city.
Taliban fighters stormed the Presidential Palace on Sunday and demanded a peaceful transfer of power as Kabul descended into chaos, with US helicopters evacuating diplomats from the embassy in the capital.
Taliban insurgent fighters are camped just 50 kilometres (30 miles) away from Kabul and this development has prompted many nations, including US and India, to airlift their nationals out of Afghanistan’s capital city.
KABUL - The Afghan Taliban tightened their territorial stranglehold around Kabul on Saturday, as refugees from the insurgents' relentless offensive flooded the capital and US Marines returned to oversee emergency evacuations.