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Taliban are 25 miles from Kabul: Warlords close in on Afghan capital as 3,000 US troops begin arriving to airlift Americans out and Embassy staff prepare to evacuate

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.

With the country's second and third-largest cities having fallen into Taliban hands, Kabul has effectively become the besieged, last stand for government forces who have offered little or no resistance elsewhere.

Insurgent fighters are now camped just 50 kilometers (30 miles) away, leaving the United States and other countries scrambling to airlift their nationals out of Kabul ahead of a feared all-out assault.

US embassy staff were ordered to begin shredding and burning sensitive material, as units from a planned re-deployment of 3,000 American troops started arriving to secure the airport and oversee the evacuations.

A state department spokesperson said it was 'standard operating procedure' to destroy sensitive material and logos for embassy drawdowns to avoid propaganda efforts.

A US official said two battalions of Marines and one infantry battalion will arrive in Kabul by Sunday evening, involving about 3,000 troops.

'They have arrived, their arrival will continue 'til tomorrow,' the U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

An infantry brigade combat team will also move out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Kuwait to act as a quick reaction force for security in Kabul if needed, the Pentagon has said.

A Taliban fighter looks on as he stands at the city of Ghazni, Afghanistan

A Taliban fighter looks on as he stands at the city of Ghazni, Afghanistan

For Kabul residents and the tens of thousands who have sought refuge there in recent weeks, the overwhelming mood was one of confusion and fear of what lies ahead

For Kabul residents and the tens of thousands who have sought refuge there in recent weeks, the overwhelming mood was one of confusion and fear of what lies ahead 

The Taliban standing on a roadside in Kandahar after taking over more parts of Afghanistan. The scale and speed of the Taliban advance has shocked Afghans and the US-led alliance that poured billions into the country

The Taliban standing on a roadside in Kandahar after taking over more parts of Afghanistan. The scale and speed of the Taliban advance has shocked Afghans and the US-led alliance that poured billions into the country

Plumes of smoke rise into the sky after fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security personnel in Kandahar

Plumes of smoke rise into the sky after fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security personnel in Kandahar

The Taliban has rapidly seized provinces in Afghanistan since the US left. They inciting violence and fear in the citizens of Kabul as they move closer to seizing the city

The Taliban has rapidly seized provinces in Afghanistan since the US left. They inciting violence and fear in the citizens of Kabul as they move closer to seizing the city 

Kabul has been surrounded by Taliban seized land and the citizens who have moved there for safety are now fearful

Kabul has been surrounded by Taliban seized land and the citizens who have moved there for safety are now fearful 

A host of European countries - including Britain, Germany, Denmark and Spain - all announced the withdrawal of personnel from their respective embassies on Friday.

For Kabul residents and the tens of thousands who have sought refuge there in recent weeks, the overwhelming mood was one of confusion and fear of what lies ahead.

'We don't know what is going on,' one resident, Khairddin Logari, told AFP.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was 'deeply disturbed' by accounts of poor treatment of women in areas seized by the Taliban, who imposed an ultra-austere brand of Islam on Afghanistan during their 1996-2001 rule.

Taliban fighters are going door-to-door and forcibly marrying girls as young as 12 and forcing them into sex slavery as they seize vast swathes of the Afghanistan government forces.

Jihadist commanders have ordered imams in areas they have captured to bring them lists of unmarried women aged from 12 to 45 for their soldiers to marry because they view them as 'qhanimat' or 'spoils of war' - to be divided up among the victors.

Fighters have then been going door-to-door to claim their 'prizes', even looking through the wardrobes of families to establish the ages of girls before forcing them into a life of sexual servitude.

'It is particularly horrifying and heartbreaking to see reports of the hard-won rights of Afghan girls and women being ripped away,' Guterres said.

The Taliban is also killing Afghan government troops who surrender, the US claimed.  

The US Embassy in Kabul has been ordered to destroy sensitive materials as Biden sends in 3,000 troops to help evacuate

The US Embassy in Kabul has been ordered to destroy sensitive materials as Biden sends in 3,000 troops to help evacuate 

The US Embassy in Kabul has been ordered to destroy sensitive materials - including papers, computers, and anything with logos on it - to avoid it being used in propaganda

The US Embassy in Kabul has been ordered to destroy sensitive materials - including papers, computers, and anything with logos on it - to avoid it being used in propaganda 

Taliban fighters drive an Afghan National Army vehicle through a street in Kandahar

Taliban fighters drive an Afghan National Army vehicle through a street in Kandahar

Video taken in Faryab province last month did appear to show Taliban fighters massacring 22 Afghan commandos after they had surrendered, including the son of a well-known general. 

Hundreds of government troops have surrendered to the Taliban since fighting escalated in May with the withdrawal of US troops - some without firing a shot, others after being cut off and surrounded with little or no chance of reinforcement or resupply from the government in Kabul.

The Taliban has now seized around two-thirds of the country from the government in a little over three months, with ten cities falling to the jihadists in the last week alone - while several others are on the verge of being captured.

The scale and speed of the Taliban advance 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.

Despite the frantic evacuation efforts, the Biden administration continues to insist that a complete Taliban takeover is not inevitable.

'Kabul is not right now in an imminent threat environment,' Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Friday, while acknowledging that Taliban fighters were 'trying to isolate' the city. 

Officials took pains to avoid describing the operation as an evacuation as they announced that the State Department would reduce its civilian footprint of 4000 people to a 'core diplomatic presence.'

'Our embassy remains open and our diplomatic mission will endure,' said State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Thursday.

The moves triggered fresh questions about whether Biden had been right to announce a complete withdrawal, 20 years U.S. forces and allies ousted the Taliban from Kabul.

Officials insist they always had contingency plans to help American staff leave safely but critics said the result was chaos.

Even allies have expressed concern. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the Trump administration had forged a 'rotten deal' with the Taliban that risked allowing terrorists to return.

'I've been pretty blunt about it publicly and that's quite a rare thing when it comes to United States decisions, but strategically it causes a lot of problems and as an international community, it's very difficult for what we're seeing today,' he told Sky News.

The Taliban offensive has accelerated in recent days, with the capture of Herat in the north and, just hours later, the seizure of Kandahar - the group's spiritual heartland in the south.

Kandahar resident Abdul Nafi told AFP the city was calm after government forces abandoned it for the sanctuary of military facilities outside, where they were negotiating terms of surrender.

'I came out this morning, I saw Taliban white flags in most squares of the city,' he said. 'I thought it might be the first day of Eid.'

Eid is one of two celebrations in the Islamic faith. 

Pro-Taliban social media accounts have boasted of the vast spoils of war captured by the insurgents - posting photos of armored vehicles, heavy weapons, and even a drone seized by their fighters at abandoned military bases.

Taliban militants gather around after taking control of Lashlar Gah in Helmand on August 13. The Taliban now controls almost 60 per cent of the country

Taliban militants gather around after taking control of Lashlar Gah in Helmand on August 13. The Taliban now controls almost 60 per cent of the country

In Herat, the Taliban captured long-time strongman Ismail Khan, who helped lead the defense of the provincial capital along with his militia fighters.

Pul-e-Alam, capital of Loghar province, was the latest city to fall on Friday, putting the Taliban within striking distance of Kabul.

Helicopters flitted back and forth between Kabul's airport and the sprawling US diplomatic compound in the heavily fortified Green Zone - 46 years after choppers evacuated Americans from Saigon, signaling the end of the Vietnam War.

The US-led evacuation is focused on thousands of people, including embassy employees, and Afghans and their families who fear retribution for working as interpreters or in other support roles for the United States.

Pentagon spokesman Kirby said that most of the troops shepherding the evacuation would be in place by Sunday and 'will be able to move thousands per day' out of Afghanistan.

'Capacity is not going to be a problem,' he said.

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