ESCAPE FROM HELL
640 desperate Afghans crammed together on US cargo jet designed to carry 150 as they flee Taliban carnage in Kabul
HUNDREDS of desperate Afghans cram together on the floor of a US cargo jet - the lucky few to escape the Taliban carnage in Kabul.
The C-17 transporter - meant for 150 troops - took off with at least 640 on board after terrified locals flooded up the ramp amid chaotic scenes that left at least eight dead.
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Meanwhile distressing footage emerged apparently showing a stowaway strapped to the outside of a C-17 plan after take-off.
The man's limbs are seen flapping in the extreme air currents after he is said to have been trapped in the landing gear - but it is not known if he survived.
It comes after separate video yesterday showed Afghans clinging to the side of a US jet as it taxied for takeoff and then falling to their deaths soon after.
It comes as...
- Joe Biden said he "stands squarely behind" his decision to pull US troops out of Afghanistan
- Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab admitted Nato allies were surprised by the "pace and scale" of the Taliban takeover
- The SAS are to join a "Dunkirk-style" rescue mission to save 6,000 Brits from Kabul airport
- The UK Ambassador will stay "for as long as possible"; to help the evacuation
- A British student who went on holiday to Kabul says he has been safely evacuated
So far eight people have died in the mayhem at Kabul airport, where thousands broke through the perimeter desperately hoping to get out after the Taliban seized the capital on Sunday.
Three people were reportedly run over by jets and three died falling from an airborne C-17 transporter.
Two armed men were shot dead by US soldiers who said they came under fire. Dozens more were treated for gunshot wounds.
At one point yesterday Apache helicopters were sent to clear the runway for jets to land by swooping low over the crowds and firing warning shots.
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Two US mercy mission C-17s have left Kabul so far after the Pentagon sent troops to evacuate embassy staff and other citizens.
The crew of flight RCH 871 on Sunday were powerless to stop hundreds of locals racing into the cargo bay.
Footage showed people hauling more refugees up by the arms even as the hydraulic ramp began rising.
The US Air Force pilot then "made the decision to go" despite the overcrowded conditions in the back.
Women and young children could be seen among the hundreds packed on the floor.
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Radio messages to air traffic controller originally suggested there were 800 people on board, but reported the true figure was closer to 640.
The heavy-lift jets are designed to accommodate 150 soldiers comfortably or carry 74 tons of cargo.
After landing in Qatar, the refugees will be taken to bases in Texas and Wisconsin, the US Defense Department said.
Joe Biden has been rocked by scenes akin to the fall of Saigon including a Chinook helicopter flying diplomats from the roof of the US embassy.
Last night the President insisted he "stands squarely behind" his decision to withdraw US troops despite fierce criticism from policymakers and veterans.
And he blamed the leaders of Afghanistan for giving up the fight and fleeing abroad.
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Afghan president Ashraf Ghani's whereabouts are unknown after he fled on Sunday "to prevent a flood of bloodshed".
Last night it was claimed he had stuffed a helicopter full of banknotes before flying to Oman.
The Russian Embassy in Kabul claimed Mr Ghani also took four cars, and had to leave some cash behind as it would not all fit in.
Meanwhile Al-Jazeera claimed he had flown to Uzbekistan, citing his personal bodyguard.
Other early reports suggested he had gone to Dushanbe in Tajikistan. But authorities denied his plane had entered the country.
Kazakhstan also denied he was there.
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BRUTAL REIGN
Residents of Kabul today woke up to their first day under Taliban rule on Monday with reports the hardliners were scouring the city looking for military vehicles.
In the city there were reports the jihadis have reportedly begun house-to-house searches with a 'kill list'.
The speed of the Taliban's victory has shaken the world and came just weeks after troops from the US, UK and other Nato countries left Afghanistan.
By Sunday night, members of the Taliban members declared that they had been "victorious" in a statement.
In the live broadcast one insurgent said he had spent eight years in Guantanamo Bay.
Now Boris Johnson has blamed the US for the advancement of the Taliban in Afghanistan, claiming President Biden "accelerated" their control.
The Prime Minister said the "difficult" situation had been exacerbated by the President's decision to withdraw troops from the war-torn country.
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A few days ago US officials predicted it would take 30 days for the jihadis to reach Kabul - and 90 to take the city - but they have swept all before them in a terrifying rampage.
Twenty years after they were ejected by the US and its allies in the wake of 9/11 they are now back in power.
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Timeline of Taliban victory
April 14 - President Joe Biden announces US troops will withdraw from Afghanistan starting on May 1 and ending on September 11.
May 4 - Taliban fighters launch a major offensive on Afghan forces in southern Helmand and at least six other provinces.
June 7 - Government officials say fighting is raging in 26 of the country's 34 provinces.
June 22 - Taliban fighters launch a series of attacks in the north of the country, far from their traditional strongholds in the south.
July 2 - American troops quietly pull out of their main military base in Afghanistan - Bagram Air Base, ending US involvement in the war.
July 21 - Taliban insurgents control about a half of the country's districts, according to the senior US general, underlining the scale and speed of their advance.
July 25 - US vows to continue to support Afghan troops "in the coming weeks" with intensified airstrikes to help them counter Taliban attacks.
July 26 - The United Nations says nearly 2,400 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in May and June in escalating violence, the highest number for those months since records started in 2009.
August 6 - Zaranj in the south of the country becomes the first provincial capital to fall to the Taliban in years and many more the ensuing days, including the prized city of Kunduz in the north.
August 13 - Four more provincial capitals fall in a day, including Kandahar, the country's second city and spiritual home of the Taliban. In the west, another key city, Herat, is overrun.
August 14 - The Taliban take the major northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif and, with little resistance, Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province just 40 miles south of Kabul.
August 15 - The Taliban take the key eastern city of Jalalabad without a fight, effectively surrounding Kabul.
Joe Biden blasts Afghan leaders for ‘giving up’ as he ‘stands by’ decision to pull out
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