Fearful Afghans crowd Kabul airport to escape Taliban – In pics

As the United States President Joe Biden rightly pointed out, “gut-wrenching” pictures have emerged lately from Afghanistan where people are lining up at the Kabul airport to escape the Taliban rule.

The US and other countries including India evacuated diplomats and civilians from Kabul. Several military flights have taken off from the airport so far. Afghan citizens were seen packed inside a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III, as they were being transported from Hamid Karzai International Airport. 

US soldiers stood guard along a perimeter at the Kabul airport where thousands of Afghans rushed to the tarmac after the swift Taliban takeover in the country. (PTI photo)

Hundreds of people gathered near US planes at the airport hoping to be rescued. In a desperate attempt, some climbed on the plane as it moved down the runway. (PTI photo)

Traffic jam and crowds were seen near the Kabul airport as people hoped to get a chance to flee the country.

India brought back home the Indian ambassador and its staff at the embassy in Kabul in a military transport aircraft. The C-17 heavy-lift aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) landed at Jamnagar in Gujarat at around 11:15 am en route to the Hindon airbase near the national capital.