Air India Flight With 129 Passengers Takes Off From Kabul

Up to 126 passengers checked into AI-244, Air India’s last commercial that took off today from Kabul, the capital of strife-hit Afghanistan, sources have said. They are expected to arrive in New Delhi tonight. The airline’s three-times-a-week flight to Kabul remains uncertain, given the Taliban terrorists’ near-total take over of that country, they said.

A charter flight to Kabul was cancelled earlier today, sources said. With the spike in military activity in the Kabul airspace, operating civilian flights has become challenging.

The Emirates flight to Kabul is forced to turn around as ???????? military obviously takes over the airport for only its evacuation use. There were surely many people booked on the return flight to Dubai. pic.twitter.com/e0KyAY7mKO

— Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) August 15, 2021

The Taliban terrorists entered Afghanistan’s capital Kabul today as the United States evacuated diplomats from its embassy by helicopter and a government minister said power would be handed over to an interim administration. A senior interior ministry official told Reuters that the rebels were pouring in “from all sides” into the city but gave no further details.

A spokesman for the terrorist group said it was in talks with the government for a peaceful surrender of Kabul.

“Taliban fighters are to be on standby on all entrances of Kabul until a peaceful and satisfactory transfer of power is agreed,” the statement said, according to Reuters. The entry into the capital caps a lightning advance by Taliban who were ousted from Kabul 20 years ago by the US after the September 11 attacks

The Taliban appear to have gained an upper hand ever since the US-led forces withdrew the bulk of their remaining troops over the past month as Afghanistan’s military defences collapsed.