Taliban 'are raping women and killing men,' says Afghan student

An Afghan student had to cut short a GB News interview to run, because "the Taliban right now have attacked Kabul."

Haseen Fatiman Amini, Student and Afghan Peace Volunteers member, said "they are raping women and killing men," and urged the international community "please, for the sake of humanity help us out, help me and my family, and other women in trouble."

She said "I just have two minutes, I have to run."

The Talibanmilitants have entered the outskirts of the capital Kabul and have seized the last major city outside of Kabul held by the country’s increasingly isolated central government, cutting off the capital to the east as helicopters began landing at the US embassy there.

The collapse of Jalalabad, near a major border crossing with Pakistan, leaves Afghanistan’s central government in control of just Kabul and seven other provincial capitals out of the country’s 34.

In a nationwide offensive that has taken just over a week, the Taliban have defeated, co-opted or sent Afghan security forces fleeing from wide swathes of the country, even with some air support by the US military.

The rapid shuttle-run flights near the embassy began a few hours later as diplomatic armoured SUVs could be seen leaving the area around the post.

The US government did not immediately acknowledge the movements.

However, wisps of smoke could be seen near the embassy’s roof as diplomats urgently destroyed sensitive documents, according to two American military officials.

President Ashraf Ghani, who spoke to the nation on Saturday for the first time since the offensive began, appears increasingly isolated as well.

Warlords he negotiated with just days earlier have surrendered to the Taliban or fled, leaving Mr Ghani without a military option.

Ongoing negotiations in Qatar, the site of a Taliban office, have also failed to stop the insurgents’ advance.

Thousands of civilians now live in parks and open spaces in Kabul itself, fearing the future.

While Kabul appeared calm on Sunday, some ATMs stopped distributing cash as hundreds gathered in front of private banks, trying to withdraw their life savings.