US, UK launch evacuation flights as Taliban advance across Afghanistan

KABUL (AFP)—The United States and Britain ordered Friday the deployment of thousands of troops to Afghanistan to evacuate their nationals, as the Taliban overran more key regional cities in an offensive that has left the capital dangerously exposed.

The orders came as the Taliban took control of Kandahar, the nation’s second-biggest city in the insurgency’s heartland, leaving only Kabul and pockets of another territory in government hands.

“Kandahar is completely conquered. The Mujahideen reached Martyrs’ Square,” a Taliban spokesman tweeted on an officially recognized account, referring to a city landmark.

The claim was backed up by officials and residents, who told AFP government forces had withdrawn en masse to a military facility outside the southern city.

Hours later, the Taliban said they had also taken control of the Lashkar Gah, the capital of neighboring Helmand province.

A security source confirmed the fall of the city, telling AFP that the Afghan military and government officials had evacuated the city after striking a local ceasefire deal with the militants.

The government has now effectively lost control of most of the country, following an eight-day blitz into urban centers by the Taliban that has also stunned Kabul’s American backers.