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Photos: A View Of Afghanistan As The Taliban Take Over

NPR

By Nicole Werbeck,

Virginia Lozano, Catie Dull

Published August 15, 2021 at 4:40 PM CDT

Evacuees crowd the interior of a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft, carrying some 640 Afghans to Qatar from Kabul, Afghanistan August 15, 2021.

Updated August 16, 2021 at 2:15 PM ET

Taliban fighters entered Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan on Sunday, further tightening their grip on the country as panicked workers fled government offices and helicopters landed at the embassy.

Here is a look around Afghanistan as the Taliban took over the cities and provinces around the country.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>People climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport to depart. — Mon., Aug. 16: People climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport to depart.

<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>Taliban members are seen near Hamid Karzai International Airport as thousands of Afghans rush to flee. — Mon., Aug. 16: Taliban members are seen near Hamid Karzai International Airport as thousands of Afghans rush to flee.

<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>Taliban fighters stand guard in front of the Hamid Karzai International Airport. — Mon., Aug. 16: Taliban fighters stand guard in front of the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>People move towards the Kabul airport to leave Kabul. — Mon., Aug. 16: People move towards the Kabul airport to leave Kabul.

<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>A family sits along the tarmac as they wait to leave the Kabul airport. Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Getty Images — Mon., Aug. 16: A family sits along the tarmac as they wait to leave the Kabul airport. Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Getty Images

<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>A US soldier points his gun towards an Afghan passenger at the Kabul airport. — Mon., Aug. 16: A US soldier points his gun towards an Afghan passenger at the Kabul airport.

<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris hold a video conference with the national security team to discuss Afghanistan. — Mon., Aug. 16: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris hold a video conference with the national security team to discuss Afghanistan.

<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>Afghan families wait by the luggage conveyor belt while waiting to leave at the Kabul airport. — Mon., Aug. 16: Afghan families wait by the luggage conveyor belt while waiting to leave at the Kabul airport.

<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>Arif Oryakhail embraces head office Giovanni Grandi after they disembarked from the Afghani capital with a group of Italian diplomats and civilians at Rome's Fiumicino international airport. — Mon., Aug. 16: Arif Oryakhail embraces head office Giovanni Grandi after they disembarked from the Afghani capital with a group of Italian diplomats and civilians at Rome's Fiumicino international airport.

<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul. — Sun., Aug. 15: Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul.

<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan — Sun., Aug. 15: A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan

<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Kandahar, southwest Afghanistan. — Sun., Aug. 15: Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Kandahar, southwest Afghanistan.

<strong>Sun., Aug. 15</strong>: Taliban fighters raise their flag at the Ghazni provincial governor's house, in Ghazni, southeastern, Afghanistan. — Sun., Aug. 15: Taliban fighters raise their flag at the Ghazni provincial governor's house, in Ghazni, southeastern, Afghanistan.

<strong>Sun., Aug. 15</strong>: Taliban fighters sit on a vehicle along the street in Jalalabad province on August 15, 2021. — Sun., Aug. 15: Taliban fighters sit on a vehicle along the street in Jalalabad province on August 15, 2021.

<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> Taliban fighters sit over a vehicle on a street in Laghman province. — Sun., Aug. 15: Taliban fighters sit over a vehicle on a street in Laghman province.

<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> Afghan people line up outside AZIZI Bank to take out cash as the Bank suffers amid money crises in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021. — Sun., Aug. 15: Afghan people line up outside AZIZI Bank to take out cash as the Bank suffers amid money crises in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021.

<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> An Afghan family carrying belongings on their way to flee Kabul city, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021. — Sun., Aug. 15: An Afghan family carrying belongings on their way to flee Kabul city, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021.

<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> A Pakistani soldier stands guard as stranded Afghan nationals return to Afghanistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman. — Sun., Aug. 15: A Pakistani soldier stands guard as stranded Afghan nationals return to Afghanistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman.

<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> Pakistani soldiers check the documents of stranded Afghan nationals wanting to return to Afghanistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman. — Sun., Aug. 15: Pakistani soldiers check the documents of stranded Afghan nationals wanting to return to Afghanistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman.

<strong>Sat., Aug. 14:</strong> Afghan policemen stand guard at a checkpoint along the road in Kabul. — Sat., Aug. 14: Afghan policemen stand guard at a checkpoint along the road in Kabul.

<strong>Sat., Aug. 14:</strong> Taliban fighters pose on the back of a vehicle in the city of Herat, west of Kabul. — Sat., Aug. 14: Taliban fighters pose on the back of a vehicle in the city of Herat, west of Kabul.

<strong>Sat., Aug. 14:</strong> Afghans wait in long lines for hours at the passport office as many are desperate to have their travel documents ready to go on in Kabul. — Sat., Aug. 14: Afghans wait in long lines for hours at the passport office as many are desperate to have their travel documents ready to go on in Kabul.

<strong>Sat., Aug. 14:</strong> Passengers walk to the departures terminal of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. — Sat., Aug. 14: Passengers walk to the departures terminal of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

<strong>Sat., Aug. 14:</strong> A Taliban fighter looks on as he stands at the city of Ghazni. — Sat., Aug. 14: A Taliban fighter looks on as he stands at the city of Ghazni.

<strong>Sat., Aug. 14:</strong> A small group of Afghans eat their meal quietly outside of their vehicle which they also use to live in temporarily, in the corner of a parking area near the makeshift camps at Shahr-e-Naw Park in Kabul. — Sat., Aug. 14: A small group of Afghans eat their meal quietly outside of their vehicle which they also use to live in temporarily, in the corner of a parking area near the makeshift camps at Shahr-e-Naw Park in Kabul.

<strong>Fri., Aug. 13:</strong> Pakistani soldiers, right, check stranded Afghan nationals at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman. — Fri., Aug. 13: Pakistani soldiers, right, check stranded Afghan nationals at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman.

<strong>Fri., Aug. 13:</strong> Displaced Afghan women and children from Kunduz pray at a mosque that is sheltering them. — Fri., Aug. 13: Displaced Afghan women and children from Kunduz pray at a mosque that is sheltering them.

<strong>Fri., Aug. 13:</strong> Internally displaced Afghans from northern provinces, who fled their home due to fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security personnel, take refuge in a public park Kabul. — Fri., Aug. 13: Internally displaced Afghans from northern provinces, who fled their home due to fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security personnel, take refuge in a public park Kabul.

<strong>Fri., Aug. 13:</strong> Taliban fighters stand guard over surrendered Afghan security members forces in the city of Ghazni. — Fri., Aug. 13: Taliban fighters stand guard over surrendered Afghan security members forces in the city of Ghazni.

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Nicole Werbeck

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Virginia Lozano

Catie Dull

Catie Dull (she/her) is a short-form video producer and photojournalist on the NPR visuals team. She is from Wilmington, North Carolina and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Photo and Video Journalism.