Thousands of Afghans have been filmed desperately chasing after and clinging to a US Air Force plane as it taxied down the runway — with multiple people plunging to their deaths after the aircraft took off in the frantic attempt to flee the country after the Taliban takeover.
US officials said seven people were killed, including two shot dead by American forces, after crowds of Afghans stormed Kabul’s international airport on Monday and swarmed the tarmac as US military flights were preparing to leave.
American troops trying to secure the airport were fired upon at least twice as the chaos unfolded, officials said.
The two people killed by US forces were carrying weapons at the time but it is unclear if they opened fire on troops.
It is not clear how many plunged from the plane but footage showed at least two people falling from the C-17 transport plane as it rapidly gained altitude over the city.
They were among the thousands filmed chasing after and climbing onto the plane as it taxied down the runway. Dozens of people could be seen trying to grip onto the sides of the plane.
In other videos, hundreds of people ran across the tarmac as US soldiers fired warning shots in the air. A US official said troops had fired in the air to deter people trying to force their way onto a military flight that was set to evacuate American diplomats out of the fallen city.
Another shows a crowd trying to push and shove their way up a staircase in a bid to board a plane, with some people hanging off the railings.
The chaos at the airport prompted the US military to temporarily suspend evacuations – both military and civilian – to clear people from the airfield.
But thousands of US troops have now been rushed back into Kabul to help secure the airport – the last place in the city being guarded by Americans – to continue getting people out of the war-torn country.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said there were now 2,500 American forces at the airport and there is expected to be an additional 1,000 by Tuesday.
“We will continue to expand our security presence as needed,” Kirby said.
Officials believe the US military will be able to maintain security at Kabul airport long enough to extricate Americans and their allies but the fate of those unable to get to the airport is unclear.
The shocking scenes came just hours after Taliban insurgents toppled the Western government after a week-long onslaught across the country.
The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing a stunning end to a two-decade campaign in which the US and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan.
Amid the turmoil, the Biden administration is facing mounting criticism at home over its pullout.
President Joe Biden, who is still defending his decision, returned to the White House from Camp David on Monday afternoon ahead of his address to the nation at 3.45pm.
It will be his first public remarks about Afghanistan in nearly a week.
His National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan blamed the Afghan military for the Taliban’s rapid takeover, saying it lacked the will to fight.
“Despite the fact that we spent 20 years and tens of billions of dollars to give the best equipment, the best training and the best capacity to the Afghan security forces, we could not give them the will and they ultimately decided that they would not fight for Kabul and they would not fight for the country,” Sullivan said.
The lightning Taliban offensive through the country appears to have stunned American officials.
Just days before the insurgents entered Kabul with little if any resistance, a U.S. military assessment predicted it could take months for the capital to fall.
Biden has spent several months downplaying the Taliban threat, saying on July 8 that it was “highly unlikely” insurgents would overrun the country.
Former President Donald Trump led the backlash against Biden, calling on him to ‘resign in disgrace’ over the crisis.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted on Monday: “If President Biden truly has no regrets about his decision to withdraw, then he is disconnected from reality when it comes to Afghanistan.”
Republican Representative Jim Banks, a member of the House armed services committee, told Fox News that Biden should explain his actions to the American people.
“What was more shocking to me than the images coming out of Afghanistan is what’s happening right here at home,” he said.
“We have never seen an American leader abdicate his responsibilities and leadership like Joe Biden has. He’s in hiding. The lights are on at the White House, but nobody’s home. Where is Joe Biden?”
In other news related to Afghanistan:
A heartbreaking video emerged of a young Afghan girl crying about how “no one cares about us” — and expressing fears that the brutal Taliban rule will ensure they will “die slowly in history.”
A prominent Afghan filmmaker recorded her dramatic flight from Kabul as Taliban forces moved in — and begged for help on social media, saying the militants were “coming to kill us.”
The Department of Defense is preparing to house thousands of Afghan refugees on military bases in the US as the Biden administration scrambles to evacuate the Special Immigrant Visa applicants.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Relations Committee, said President Biden will have “blood on his hands” over the withdrawal.
Former President Donald Trump called on President Biden to “resign in disgrace” over his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
With Post wires