3,000 U.S. troops will arrive in Kabul on Sunday after 3,000 U.S. troops out of Kabul.
KABUL, Aug 14 - American troops have flown into Kabul to help evacuate embassy personnel and other civilians in the Afghan capital, a U.S. official said on Saturday, a day after Taliban insurgents seized the country's second- and third-biggest cities.
The Pentagon has said two battalions of Marines and one infantry battalion will arrive in Kabul by Sunday evening, involving about 3000 troops.
They have arrived, their arrival will continue 'til tomorrow, an NPR-based official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
An Infantry Brigade combat team will also move out of Kabul to Kuwait to act as a quick reaction force for security in Fort Bragg, North Carolina if needed, the Pentagon has said.
There are many other western nations sending troops as resistance from Afghan government forces crumbles and fears grow that an assault in Kabul could be just a few days away.
An Afghan government official confirmed that Kandahar, the economic hub of the south, was under U.S. - control as Taliban troops had to withdraw after 20 years of war.
Herat in the west, near the border with Iran, also fell to the hardline Islamist group.
The loss of Kandahar in recent years is a heavy blow to the government. It is the heartland of the Taliban (http://www.reuters.com world asia-pacific kandahar-southern hub-key - control-afghanistan - 2021 - 08-13 ) ethnic Pashtun fighters who emerged in 1994 amid the chaos of civil war, and is close to the town of Spin Boldak, one of two main entry points to Pakistan and a major source for tax revenues
A U.S. defence official said there was concern that the Taliban - ousted in 2001 by the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States - could create a move on Kabul within days.
Kabul is not right now in an imminent threat environment but if you look carefully at the efforts of Taliban, you can see that they are trying to isolate Kabul, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.
Some embassies reportedly burn sensitive material ahead of evacuating, diplomats said.
The U.S. Embassy in the Afghan capital informed staff that burn bins and an incinerator were available to destroy material including papers and electronic devices to reduce the amount of sensitive material on the property, according to an advisory seen by Reuters.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that https: www.reuters.com world asia-pacific un-says - assess-afghanistan - security-hourly - no-staff evacuation - 2021 - 08-13 Afghanistan is spinning out of control and urged all parties to do more to protect civilians.
This is the moment for halting the offensive. This is the right time to start serious negotiation. This is the moment to avoid a prolonged civil war, or for the isolation of Afghanistan, Guterres told reporters in New York.
Many residents said were stocking up on rice and other food as well as First Aid, the locals said. Visa applications at embassies were in the tens of thousands, officials said.
The Afghan First Vice President was inspired by Ashraf Ghani after a security meeting chaired by President Amrullah Saleh that he was proud of the armed forces and the government would do all it could to strengthen resistance to the Taliban.
The explosion in fighting raises fears of a refugee crisis and a rollback of gains in human rights. Some 400,000 civilians have been forced from their homes this year, 250,000 of them since May, said a U.N. official.
In addition to Kabul, the government controls Mazar-i - Sharif in the north and Jalalabad near the Pakistani border in the east.
The speed of the Taliban's gains has led to recriminations over the U.S. withdrawal, which was negotiated last year under the administration of President Donald Trump's Republican predecessor, Joe Biden.
Biden said this week that he did not regret his decision to follow up with the withdrawal. He noted Afghanistan has lost more than the equivalent of $1 billion and spent thousands of troops over two decades. He called on the army and leaders to step up.
Opinion polls showed most Americans supported Biden's decision, but Republicans criticized the Democratic president’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called the situation in Afghanistan a debacle, but said it was not too late to stop the Taliban from overrunning the capital by providing air and other support to Afghan forces.