UPDATE: 9:50 a.m.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) � Senior U.S. military officials say the chaos at the Kabul airport this morning left seven people dead, including some who fell from a departing American military transport jet.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss ongoing operations.
Another video showed the Afghans falling as the plane gained altitude over Kabul.
ORIGINAL STORY
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) � Afghans have rushed onto the tarmac of the capital’s airport, as thousands try to flee the country after the Taliban seized power.
Some clung to the side of a U.S. military transport plane before takeoff Monday. The widely shared image captured the sense of desperation as America’s 20-year war comes to a chaotic end.
The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. That brought an end to a two-decade campaign in which the U.S. and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan.
In the capital, a tense calm set in Monday, with most people hiding in their homes. Many fear chaos or a return to the kind of brutal rule the Taliban imposed when they were last in power.
