Rush on Kabul airport as Afghans flee Taliban takeover

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghans have rushed onto the tarmac of the capital’s airport, as thousands try to flee the country after the Taliban seized power.

Some clung to the side of a U.S. military transport plane before takeoff Monday.

The widely shared image captured the sense of desperation as America’s 20-year war comes to a chaotic end.

The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

That brought an end to a two-decade campaign in which the U.S. and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan.

In the capital, a tense calm set in Monday, with most people hiding in their homes.

Many fear chaos or a return to the kind of brutal rule the Taliban imposed when they were last in power.