Thousands of police and other government security forces abandoned their posts, uniforms, and even weapons on Sunday night as Taliban forces spread across the nation. Taliban forces surrounded the capital on Sunday night, declaring victory today. The Taliban had been in power and governing Afghanistan since 1996 when the US declared war on the nation. In 2010, the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan peaked at 100,000 in an attempt to quell the Taliban and Islamic State. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, reportedly to Tajikistan, and the Taliban entered Kabul, eventually seizing the presidential palace and declaring victory.

Source: New Zealand Herald August 16, 2021 07:41 UTC