Footage has emerged showing Afghan civilians clinging to the undercarriage of transport aircraft leaving Kabul with a number appearing to fall from a C-17 while in flight.

We will not be posting the footage.

The incident happened after thousands of Afghans gathered at the Kabul airport to seek evacuation amid the Taliban’s takeover of the country.

Apache helicopters were used to control crowds.

“Locals near Kabul airport claim that three young men who were holding themselves tightly on to the tires of an airplane fell on top of people’s houses. One of the locals confirmed this and said that the fall of these people made a loud and terrifying noise,” tweeted Asvaka News Agency.

It is understood that three people were killed on Monday following gunfire at the passenger terminal of Kabul’s international airport.

Last night, we reported that an American C-17 evacuated 800 people in single flight. 

American C-17 evacuates 800 people in single flight

Additionally, the first flight of evacuated personnel landed at RAF Brize Norton in the UK from Kabul late last night. The flight consisted of British Embassy staff and British citizens, say the Ministry of Defence.

As part of Operation PITTING, the UK Armed Forces are enabling the evacuation of British personnel from Afghanistan.

“On Sunday 16th August the first flight of evacuated personnel arrived at RAF Brize Norton in the UK. The flight constituted of British Embassy staff and British Nationals.
British forces from 16 Air Assault Brigade arrived in the Afghan capital over the weekend on Op PITTING to support the evacuation of British Nationals and former British staff eligible for relocation under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP).”

Huge British airlift effort underway in Afghanistan

Avatar photo
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

70 Comments
oldest
newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Shaun
Shaun
2 years ago

I do not really understand why the Afghan forces were so incapable of stopping or even slowing the Taliban after all the time, money, equipment and training we have provided over the decades? Perhaps we should have trained the women to fight, they probably have done a better job!

Steve
Steve
2 years ago
Reply to  Shaun

The speed and complete lack of any resistance tells me that something else is at play. No way the army completely fell apart this quickly, without deals being made. You can easily understand parts of the army failing bit the whole thing in under a weekend, doesn’t seem realistic.

Tomartyr
Tomartyr
2 years ago
Reply to  Steve

The Afghan air force was dependent on the US contractors who were withdrawn this year, and without an airforce to support and evacuate them any choice to resist the Taliban by isolated commanders would likely cost them their lives. For them the writing has been written on the wall for months, while I think most hoped US support would return they certainly would have made their plans for if it did not.

Last edited 2 years ago by Tomartyr
Supportive Bloke
Supportive Bloke
2 years ago
Reply to  Tomartyr

You have hit the nail on the head. ANA was feeling isolated and unsupported once Bagram effectively closed and then totally unsupported once the US contractors left and the aircraft rapidly became unflyable. That is at least according to one good source that I have. There was also one hell of a difference between the kit that ANA were left with and the kind of state-of-the-art kit that US/UK forces could deploy. It may look impressive but it lacked all the tactical bits and pieces that add up to make it a game changer. Why are they going to fight… Read more »

Watcherzero
Watcherzero
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

Uzbekistan after intially saying it crashed are now saying they shot it down, the two pilots ejected and survived though injured.

Shaun
Shaun
2 years ago

While I understand that without the better kit it disadvantaged them but presumably the Taliban didn’t have that either?

Manuel Hernandez
Manuel Hernandez
2 years ago
Reply to  Shaun

They have the kit now.

Steve
Steve
2 years ago
Reply to  Tomartyr

It’s a fair point but the gov troops were meant to out number one Taliban troops by around 10:1. Air cover is only needed when your outnumbered. It’s a fair point around the morale hit, but total collapse so quickly, just feels odd.

Roy
Roy
2 years ago
Reply to  Steve

The Afghan never have chance bcs they never wholeheartedly wanted to fight Taliban themselves, no amount of outnumber will help them in such situation

farouk
farouk
2 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Steve, I feel that is down to the Islamic mindset, based on sharia law which allows prisoners to buy their freedom. Things aren’t helped by how the West affords a get out of jail card to anybody who tips up and claims asylum. Why the UK did just that with a Taliban thug who had blood on his hands. The media has also helped (looks at the BBC) who have always championed the likes of the Taliban and who have gone out of their way to peddle the “You are all going to die” line. So why should somebody die… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by farouk
David Steeper
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

Harsh but not one untrue word.

Daniele Mandelli
Daniele Mandelli
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

Spot on as always farouk.

farouk
farouk
2 years ago

I see the Guardian have already started promoting the line that Taliban and their ilk as victims of the West. Ironically from a woman living in the UK:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/16/guantanamo-detainee-mansoor-adayfi

Daniele Mandelli
Daniele Mandelli
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

Thanks for the link. But I wouldn’t lower myself to reading anything from the self loathing publication.

Peter S
Peter S
2 years ago

Come on. It’s good for a laugh on a dull day.

DRS
DRS
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

Just read it to be fair what he says is true GTMO was a big own goal. Now the guardian is always against the government and have a negative view on this but we should not shut ourselves in our own echo chamber. He also talks about known terrorists being released before him just because he tried to stand up against guards for others which is no surprise. Now you can take his story with a pinch of salt, but he himself talk about this not preventing terrorism and also showing others have carte Blanche on what to do –… Read more »

Bringer of Facts
Bringer of Facts
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

I never read anything in the Guardian or Independent anymore they are too doom and gloom, and navel gazing wokeist.

Sean
Sean
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

So firstly, I have no idea what you mean by “the west affords a get out of jail card to anybody who tips up and claims asylum” – why do you think this? The UK is letting in about 10,000 refugees a year, far FAR below places like Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan, who are currently housing millions of refugees. “Why the UK did just that with a Taliban thug who had blood on his hands.” – I have no idea, obviously there needs to be strict protocols in place to prevent stuff like this, but no system is perfect, and… Read more »

Farouk
Farouk
2 years ago
Reply to  Sean

Sean,
I wrote the West, not the U.K., by rewriting the argument you of course will arrive at a conclusion of your own making.

Oh regards the figure of 10K according to UNHCR:
“In the year ending March 2021, the UK received 26,903 asylum applications from main applicants only. “

Followed by
“According to UNHCR statistics, at the end of 2020 there were  132,349  refugees, 77,245 pending asylum cases  and 4662  stateless persons  in the UK.”

https://www.unhcr.org/uk/asylum-in-the-uk.html

Farouk
Farouk
2 years ago
Reply to  Sean

Sean, Where did I claim that only asylum seekers are carrying out terrorist attacks in the U.K., please don’t attribute a racist mindset to me, especially seeing as I come from an Islamic family ( Church of England since I was taken into care) I have no problem with Muslims which might explain why we are attending my niece’s wedding on Friday. Oh just for the record, Reading stabbings last year Glasgow stabbings last year Manchester bombings 2017 London Bridge attacks 2017 The attack on police on the mall with a sword 2018 The Westminster car attack 2018 Parsons Green… Read more »

Farouk
Farouk
2 years ago
Reply to  Sean

Sean, in April the Taliban started a campaign targeting the media and journalists. In targeting the media the message gets promoted that it only are the Taliban on the rise, but it allows them to use the media to send the message “ You are all going to die” that is how you use the media to spread fear and how you demoralise the people fighting you. <b>Afghanistan: Taliban Target Journalists, Women in Media</b>https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/04/01/afghanistan-taliban-target-journalists-women-media as for the BBC , they not only have championed the likes of the Taliban as of the past few weeks they have been actually interviewing… Read more »

Watcherzero
Watcherzero
2 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Most of the cities surrendered as they were starved out. With the Taliban controlling the countryside for the last year and there no longer being air support, food and ammunition could not longer reach the city garrisons and they withered on the vine. As the taliban controlled the roads and there was no airlift the government couldnt move its forces around the country to reinforce each other and the smaller Taliban force defeated the larger afghan army about five times its size in detail. Combine that with the idea of a nation state being quite alien to them when their… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Watcherzero
Lordtemplar
Lordtemplar
2 years ago
Reply to  Shaun

They havent gotten paid in months, in fa t Taliban are paying some to surrender. As well as probably not willing to die for a corrupt regime, that funnels aid money into their pockets.

Chris
Chris
2 years ago
Reply to  Lordtemplar

You also have to wonder who is funding the Taliban of they can afford to pay off swathes of the ANA…

farouk
farouk
2 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Chris,
That is an interesting point. Just as the west facilitated the mujahideen during the Soviet occupation, there is very strong evidence that Russia, Iran, Pakistan and China did likewise . In fact the deposed Afghan government arrested a load of Chinese spies 7 months ago dealing with the Taliban

Watcherzero
Watcherzero
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

And the Pakistan intelligence services were previously revealed to be bankrolling them even funding attacks against their own country due to its members sharing the same extremist religious beliefs.

Karl
Karl
2 years ago
Reply to  Watcherzero

Spot on. The Pakistani civil government has never been able to control them. Too many decent Pakistani politicians could attest to that.

Karl
Karl
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

Pakistani Military Intelligence, and other Pakistani branches. All acting as proxy for the CCP. Surrounding India. Friendly military in Myanmar. Russian/Chinese joint war games. All I guess part of the continuing “Great Game”. India needs to seriously up its game and fast.

Chris
Chris
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

Absolutely. I think it would be very naive of us not to think the Chinese, Russians and Pakistanis were not doing the same to us.

I do also wonder what Pakistan gets from having a very unstable neighbour?

Farouk
Farouk
2 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Just read that the Chinese and Russians have recognised the Taliban and unlike the rest, still have their embassies in place in Kabul.

Sean
Sean
2 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Pakistan is worried because no Afghan government since the 70’s has accepted the Durand Line as the border with Pakistan. When it was drawn it sliced through a region that was ethnically Pashtun.
So you risk Taliban style extremism with greater loyalty to Afghanistan taking hold in the Pakistan’s border region…

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Access to the opium supplies, no doubt taking a cut from it and being able to place it worldwide much easier than the taliban will be able to.

Sean
Sean
2 years ago
Reply to  Chris

The Taliban have been raking in a fortune from the drugs trade, with Afghanistan being the world’s largest heron producer. While they have only now taken the cities, the Taliban have been in control of the countryside for awhile where they ‘tax’ the production and export of heroin.
This money is being used to pay off local officials and ANA commanders, many of whom haven’t been paid for months due to the incompetence and corruption of the central government.

ChariotRider
ChariotRider
2 years ago
Reply to  Shaun

Hi Shaun, This has happened before in South East Asia. I am not surprised at all, horrified, but not surprised. Nor it appears are senior allied commanders, only the politicians. The problems and collapse have their roots in how the west gets itself involved in failing states. We get pulled in as a result of a sudden threat or attack. Which means we are scrambling to build our intelligence and evolve our plans as we get increasingly drawn in. Critically, we never have what we really need – a local we can trust to provide true leadership for their people.… Read more »

Bringer of Facts
Bringer of Facts
2 years ago
Reply to  ChariotRider

These are not so much failing states but more a case they still follow a tribal culture , western models of governmenta and western values simply do not work for them. We in the west view that as failure / corruption. The lesson is to keep out of it , we won’t win over hearts and minds, and for that very reason we won’t defeat the insurgents.

farouk
farouk
2 years ago
Reply to  Shaun

Just received this:

ChariotRider
ChariotRider
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

Sadly, that kinda sums it up…

Geoff R.
Geoff R.
2 years ago
Reply to  Shaun

it’s easier to give in and live..maybe, and in the end who can blame them.

Rob
Rob
2 years ago

This is truly heartbreaking. Where is Biden? He owns this one and is nowhere to be seen or heard. Sleeping?

ChariotRider
ChariotRider
2 years ago
Reply to  Rob

HI Rob,

Up until the end of last week 70% of Americans supported the pull out. It will be interesting to see how long that lasts given what is happening. If the Taliban support and allow terrorists to operate from Afghanistan again Joe Bidden’s legacy will not be a happy one.

This is our Vietnam and it is indeed heartbreaking the raw fear and desperation at Kabul airport are awful.

Cheers CR

Steve
Steve
2 years ago
Reply to  ChariotRider

I suspect it will be some time before the impact is felt, first the Taliban need to reinforce control and then the terror groups can start rebuilding and planning. It will be much harder for them, considering the world is watching and expecting. Small isolated attacks on remote western bases/companies I can see, but anything bigger will take some time and by the biden will be long gone.

farouk
farouk
2 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Steve,
What people seem to overlook is how Afghanistan under the Taliban/Al Q became a training ground for those who wanted to sign up for the terrorist cause. They were trained , in killing others, Bomb, bullet, knife and then they returned back to their home countries. The questions not asked by anybody is:
“Why?”

JohnG
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

People have been asking ‘why’ but unfortunately it’s not a path the MSM nor any politician wants to go down, so these people are normally sounded out and derided. For the people a little bit aware the why is there clear as day, the thorny problem is how to solve it.

Steve
Steve
2 years ago
Reply to  ChariotRider

Vietnam was very different. The combined southern Vietnam forces and US forces were barely holding on, and the pull out of such a large number of US troops was always going to result in the north winning (you could argue the north was winning before the US withdraw). Afgan it’s a bit different, the gov forces were in the majority and the threat was not considered to be so significant, and yet the results are the same. It’s just odd.

ChariotRider
ChariotRider
2 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Hi Steve, I agree it will take time and Biden will likely be long gone, hence ‘legacy’. I think he will be remembered for all the wrong reasons and history will likely judge him harshly. Biden has always said we should pull out and that the fight was against Al Qaeda not the Taliban. He urgued against Obarma’s surge, for example. The deal done by Trump gave notice of the US withdrawl and everyone has had time to plan for it. The Afghan people, including the army, did not trust their government and once our support disappeared so did belief… Read more »

David Steeper
2 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Yep plus the ARVN kept fighting for two years while slowly running out of everything from spares to fuel and finally bullets and shells.

Sceptical Richard
Sceptical Richard
2 years ago
Reply to  Rob

Biden is merely implementing Trump’s policy. Badly so, but it’s still Trump’s policy. It was Trump who did a deal with the Taliban without consulting the Afghan government, completely undermining them. Biden could have drawn down much more slowly, but the final outcome would have been the same. One way or the other, this is another American foreign policy fiasco.

AlexS
AlexS
2 years ago

Wrong. What we are seeing is Biden policy not Trump. Note that the US Army already thrown Biden under bus saying they advised him to have 3000 men in Kabul to shore up the Government.

Karl
Karl
2 years ago

For Biden’s policy read Obama.

Liam
Liam
2 years ago

Biden did not need to implement the deal so badly and pull out on a politically significant day. However, Biden has reversed Trump’s deals and positions on Keystone, Nordstream, Iran, Paris climate deal, Israel. Blaming Trump in anyway is deranged. But logic and facts go out of the window when it comes to Trump. If you do recall Trump promised a massive intervention if the Taliban did not behave. Oddly Biden did not stick to that part of the deal. Then again he’s mentally ill.

Andrew
Andrew
2 years ago

Can you imagine the concern/fear of the pilots, trying to take off on a runway full of people, worrying about literally ingesting people into the engines and jeopardising the safety of their aircraft…

Supportive Bloke
Supportive Bloke
2 years ago
Reply to  Andrew

It is horrific. If they stop then god knows that happens is they keep rolling…… Fingers crossed for the planes, pilots and passengers. I’m a bit surprised that an air bridge cannot be organised from the civilian side of the airport by say the Pakistani authorities who through ISI are in bed with the Taliban so there is a way for people to get out. As that would take the pressure off the military side of the airport. Frankly the Taliban won’t want the people who are separate to leave and letting them leave gets rid of a problem for… Read more »

OOA
OOA
2 years ago

Those poor, desperate people. What a tragedy.

My hope is these scenes are remembered by current and future politicians so they pause before ever again deciding to spend so much blood and treasure on the wrong wars; firstly since to some extent we own the resulting human suffering when they inevitably go wrong, but also because whilst we’ve been distracted our real strategic adversaries quietly erode and in some cases reverse our lead in military capability. State-on-state competition never left, we just took our eye off the ball.

ChariotRider
ChariotRider
2 years ago
Reply to  OOA

People – tragedy. Summed it up well.

Russia and China are reportedly already looking for ‘good’ relations with the new ‘government’. Also sums it up…

CR

OOA
OOA
2 years ago
Reply to  ChariotRider

Indeed. On a related point, I suspect that for all of the partisan criticism of the pull-out, there is some behind the scenes realpolitik consensus which sees a Afghanistan under Taliban rule as a useful thorne in China’s Belt/Road – and perhaps may even have an influence on domestic politics in Xinjiang. In any event, when Russia / China do start to engage as they surely will, it will be interesting to see how they do it.

farouk
farouk
2 years ago
Reply to  OOA

The Chinese were caught having secret talks with the Taliban in January, (Saw 10 spies deported) and from what I have heard they have secured a deal with them to open mines in the country. No doubt the Chinese won’t object to slave labour
https://apnews.com/article/china-taliban-1e40c629c150505a107b2e05c3a9b0cc

AlexS
AlexS
2 years ago
Reply to  farouk

China do not care if the Taliban let them get what they want.

Chris
Chris
2 years ago
Reply to  OOA

In any event, when Russia / China do start to engage as they surely will, it will be interesting to see how they do it.”

I suspect it will be with a large chequebook and a very blind eye…

Ulya
Ulya
2 years ago
Reply to  ChariotRider

The Taliban are going to be the new government, that was almost a guarantee the moment west decided to leave so it is logical even if very untasteful to try and have good working relation with them as both Russia and China have different security concerns and in China case economic concerns compared to the west. What would you have both countries do otherwise?

Sean
Sean
2 years ago
Reply to  ChariotRider

China has already concluded deals with the Taliban for the extraction of Afghanistan’s mineral resources. I’m return the Taliban have promised not to interfere in China’s ethnic/cleansing of the Muslim Uyghurs in neighbouring Xingjiang province.

Meirion x
Meirion x
2 years ago
Reply to  OOA

The scenes call for a land corridor to be established to allow Afghans to escape.
It would require a milltery operation by several thousand troops.

Rob
Rob
2 years ago

Scenes very similar to the last flights out of Danang in 75. What appalling chaos and tragedy is unfolding. Surely the troops flown in were there to put a cordon sanitaire around the airfield to prevent such scenes? It can of course get much worse if the Taliban decide to intervene. Pray for our troops.

Mike
Mike
2 years ago

I don’t blame anyone for leaving, but (corrupt officials aside) the only way the situation will improve is if all those who want a different way of life within afghanistan, remain and fight for it.

An externally imposed situation would never hold. A local central democratic government can only stand if sufficient numbers want it to

Andrew D
Andrew D
2 years ago

To see there Army fall apart so quickly, with there numbers there had unreal,seeing the news is hartbreaking all them poor people no doubt some of them Ex soldiers ,which no way with numbers been what there were could the UK take them .Now don’t get me wrong but choice it was Taliban or fight which there may of been able to hold some parts of there country.

Peter S
Peter S
2 years ago

Why is anyone surprised by these events? The Taliban collapsed just as quickly in 2001 when a few B52 strikes and special forces assisted a ragtag Northern Alliance of mainly non Pashtun groups. The Taliban ” government” was just as feeble as the latest Ghani version and disintegrated in weeks, Central government,as understood in the developed world, has never really existed in Afghanistan. (The tribal areas of Pakistan are similarly barely under any effective government control.) So it doesn’t take much to overthrow a Kabul administration. Establishing an effective and enduring government is much harder: Afghans couldn’t manage it, neither… Read more »

Craig
Craig
2 years ago
Reply to  Peter S

The Taliban didn’t collapse in 2001. It did what any self-respecting asymmetrical opposing force did- it retreated, regrouped, infiltrated and gathered strength. Still making the same mistakes over the ages- the West doesn’t learn.

Peter S
Peter S
2 years ago
Reply to  Craig

It wasn’t an asymmetrical opposing force; it had gained control of most of the country,except for the far north. In 2001, it lost that control in a few weeks, at very little cost to the West. Its return to major operations took years, funded and supported by Pakistan. The key point is the instability of any of the groupings in Afghanistan. The absence of any effective state structure means that control can change hands very quickly.

Johan
Johan
2 years ago

The Issue seems to be the Offical Government are corrupt to the core and based on that is why Trump had enough of governments not pulling there weight in there own defence.

don’t forget he kicked her Merkel in the balls,

Steve
Steve
2 years ago

How much more dignified was the video clip of the final Russian withdrawal in 1989. I recall the Russian General riding in an armoured vehicle convoy. He got out at the bridge over the Oxus River and waited until the convoy crossed. Then he walked over the bridge as the final Russian to leave. Leadership at its best!