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Afghanistan: Taliban claim victory, Kabul Airport in chaos
Afghanistan has fallen to the Taliban, and Afghan citizens are storming the Kabul Airport to try to escape.
International
The war in Afghanistan is over, the Taliban declared Monday morning, after taking control of the presidential palace in Kabul.
At least five people were killed in Kabul airport as hundreds of people tried to forcibly enter planes leaving the Afghan capital, witnesses told Reuters.
One witness said he had seen the bodies of five people being taken to a vehicle. Another witness said it was not clear whether the victims were killed by gunshots or in a stampede.
US troops, who are in charge of the airport, earlier fired in the air to scatter the crowd, a US official said.
Taliban fighters in the Afghan capital started collecting weapons from civilians on Monday because people no longer need them for personal protection, a Taliban official said.
"We understand people kept weapons for personal safety. They can now feel safe. We are not here to harm innocent civilians," the official told Reuters.
In addition, a wave of looting is engulfing Kabul. The National Museum of Afghanistan decried the international community, security forces, and even the Taliban to defend the institution's artifacts.