Taliban near gates of Kabul as US prepares to fly out thousands

KABUL: The Taliban seized more major cities on Friday as they raced towards full control of Afghanistan and inched closer to Kabul, with the United States preparing to airlift thousands of people a day out of the capital.

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 their spiritual heartland Kandahar, Afghanistan s second-largest city.

The scale and speed of the onslaught has shocked Afghans and the US-led alliance that poured billions into the country after toppling the Taliban in the wake of the September 11 attacks nearly 20 years ago.

Days before a final US withdrawal ordered by President Joe Biden, individual soldiers, units and even whole divisions have surrendered — handing the insurgents even more vehicles and military hardware to fuel their lightning advance.

Pul-e-Alam, capital of Loghar province, was the latest city to fall Friday, putting the Taliban just 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Kabul.

British Defence Minister Ben Wallace said Friday that the hasty pullout, which London followed after Biden ordered the withdrawal of the larger US contingent, had been “a mistake”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to “not turn our backs on Afghanistan” but acknowledged that outside powers had limited power to impose a solution.