What is happening in Afghanistan

THOUSANDS of Afghans are fleeing for lives as the Taliban sweep through the country, taking girls as young as 12 as sex slaves.

There are already horrifying reports of beheadings, hangings and crucifixions as jihadi militants patrol the streets of Kabul.

People displaced by the rampaging Taliban are flooding into refugee campsCredit: Getty What's happening in Afghanistan?

The Taliban has swarmed the capital Kabul after capturing the rest of Afghanistan in a lightning advance.

The Taliban stormed Afghanistan’s Presidential Palace and declared they were "victorious" in gaining control of the country.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he fled to "prevent a flood of bloodshed".

Twenty years after they were ejected by the US and its allies in the wake of 9/11 they stand on the brink of being back in power.

The terrorists seized Bargram air base, which was the largest US military installation in the country, and released the 5,000 prisoners held there.

Foreign diplomats have fled the country, but the UK's ambassador Sir Laurie Bristow has stayed behind to oversee the evacuation of 4,000 stranded Brits.

Meanwhile, thousands of Afghans have mobbed Kabul's airport trying to flee.

In scenes that echoed the fall of Saigon helicopters were seen ferrying US embassy staff to safety at a secure area near Kabul's airport.

Five people have reportedly died amid desperate and deeply upsetting scenes.

More than 4,000 desperate UK nationals are waiting for a last-ditch airlift.

Why is there a war in Afghanistan?

America toppled the Taliban when it swept in to Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York and Washington DC.

This was due to the Taliban providing a safe haven for Al-Qaeda to freely recruit, train, and deploy terrorists to other countries.

This included evil mass murderer Osama Bin Laden who was responsible for 9/11.

The Islamist militants refused to hand him over.

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So, in October 2001, the US military, with international support, began a bombing campaign against Taliban militants.

The Taliban was routed from power by the American-led campaign after then US President George W. Bush vowed to “win the war against terrorism".

Since then, America has "with our Nato Allies and partners, trained and equipped nearly 300,000 current serving members of the military â€" of the Afghan National Security Force," President Joe Biden said.

Cementing America's decision to quit the country on July 8, 2021, he added: "Our military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31.

"The United States did what we went to do in Afghanistan: to get the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and to deliver justice to Osama Bin Laden.

"And to degrade the terrorist threat to keep Afghanistan from becoming a base from which attacks could be continued against the US.

"We achieved those objectives. That’s why we went.

"We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build.

"And it’s the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country."

Biden also stated that "hundreds of thousands more Afghan National Defence and Security Forces trained over the last two decades.

"We provided our Afghan partners with all the tools - let me emphasize: all the tools, training, and equipment of any modern military.

"We provided advanced weaponry. And we’re going to continue to provide funding and equipment. And we’ll ensure they have the capacity to maintain their air force."

Taliban fighters take control of the presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the countryCredit: AP Thousands have made their way to Kabul airport to seek asylumCredit: Los Angeles Times / Polaris

The reality is, however, that the Taliban has spent a decade taking control of large swaths of the countryside.

They were positioning themselves to rapidly seize key infrastructure and urban areas once Mr Biden announced the US withdrawal.

And the militants' terrifying and rapid onslaught shows a disastrous collapse of Afghan forces after the US spent billions of dollars trying to establish a functioning state.

Biden said in early August 2021 that he did not regret his decision, noting Washington has spent more than $1trillion in America's longest war and lost thousands of troops.

What's happened so far?

October 2001 - Taliban militants removed from power in Afghanistan

September 2020 - Peace talks launched between representatives of the Afghan government and Taliban

April 2021 - US President Biden announces America will withdraw troops by August 31 despite Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warning of carnage from the Taliban

May 2021 - Peace talks in Qatar failed to make significant progress - as militants seize more territory in Afghanistan, particularly in the north

June 2021 - Hundreds of Afghan troops surrender to the Taliban as the terror group continues to accelerate its campaign to gain control over the war-torn country

July 1, 2021 - Union Flag lowered in Afghanistan, ending 20 years of the UK’s military presence in the country

July 8, 2021 - President Biden confirms that the US is withdrawing troops by August 31, 2021

July 19, 2021 - US and Nato write a letter begging the Taliban to end terror rampage after fleeing Afghanistan as fanatics seize more territory

July 24, 2021 - Interpreter Sohail Pardis, who received death threats for helping US troops in Afghanistan, is beheaded by the Taliban

August 1, 2021 - Taliban launches assaults on three cities in Afghanistan in ‘worst violence for 20 years’

August 7, 2021 - US deploys B-52 bombers in a desperate bid to halt the Taliban's advance on major cities as Brits are told to get out

August 10, 2021 - The Taliban is ‘going door-to-door dragging out girls as young as 12 to make them fighters’ sex slaves’ in terrifying rampage

August 12, 2021 - The UK sends 600 troops to evacuate Brits from Afghanistan as rampaging Taliban seize 11 cities and ‘close in on Kabul’

August 13, 2021 - The insurgents claim they have seized Kandahar and Herat - the second and third largest cities in the war-torn country - to now hold 12 of Afghanistan's 34 provincial capitals as part of a weeklong blitz

August 15, 2021 - The Taliban take control of Jalalabad. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he fled the country to ‘prevent a flood of bloodshed’. Taliban stormed Afghanistan’s Presidential Palace after ripping through Kabul. Taliban claim they have been "victorious" in seizing power.

August 16, 2021 - Kabul residents make desperate attempt to the flee the capital, British rescue mission is underway as 6,000 Britons trapped in the new Taliban state and the heroic UK ambassador stays behind to help. Also, Biden breaks silence after Kabul capture, "standing squarely behind" his decision to remove troops.

August 19, 2021 - The Taliban shoot dead protesters and whip crowds in Afghanistan after initial charm offensive, many mothers have been throwing their babies over wire fences to get them to safety. The evacuation of Afghan refugees by US and UK forces are in full swing.

Taliban post videos after claiming to have captured Kandahar, Afghanistan's second biggest city

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