Seven killed at Kabul airport as US evacuation descends into chaos - Well done America Leader of the Free World

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Seven killed at Kabul airport as US evacuation descends into chaos; Taliban proclaim peace in Afghanistan

Thousands of Afghans rushed into Kabul's main airport, some so desperate to escape the Taliban that they held onto a military jet as it took off and were seen apparently plunging to their deaths.

kt note: Just as it happened in Saigon - desperate Vietnamese fell from the chopper they clung to; some had their hands gripping the helicopter skids stomped on by American soldiers on board, forcing the poor wannabe-evacuees to let go and fall to their deaths from hundreds of feet above ground

The crowds of people rushing the airport came as the Taliban enforced their rule over the wider capital after a lightning advance across the country that took just over a week and dethroned the country's Western-backed government. At least seven people died in the chaos on Monday, US officials said, as America's longest war ended with its enemy the victor.

US soldiers killed two armed men at Kabul's airport after a top Pentagon general met with the Taliban in Doha to urge them not to attack as thousands sought to flee Afghanistan, a defence official said.

A US official said troops fired in the air to deter people trying to force their way onto a military flight which was taking diplomats and embassy staff out of the fallen city.

Video released on social media showed dozens of people running alongside a US military transport plane as it taxied along the runway before take-off.

Others were seen clinging to the plane's side.

Videos appeared to show at least two people falling from a similar plane while it was in the air after taking off.

US forces later cleared the runway to allow flights to resume.

Witnesses said hundreds of people were trapped between American forces trying to push them out of the airport and Taliban forces trying to keep them in.

The US military said it would ramp up flights using planes able to carry up to 300 people at a time, lifting peak evacuation capacity to as many as 5,000 passengers a day.

Speaking hours after the chaos at the airport, US President Joe Biden said scenes of desperate Afghans clinging to US military planes were "gutwrenching".

He said he stood squarely behind his decision to pull troops out, and would not repeat "the mistakes of the past" by fighting in a conflict that was no longer in the interests of the US.

More than 130 Australians are believed to be in Afghanistan, and Defence Minister Peter Dutton, speaking before the US regained control, said it was not safe enough for Australian troops to begin evacuations.

Mr Dutton described the events at the airport as "terrible" and said order needed to be restored before Australian aircraft could land.

"We won't be landing into Kabul in these circumstances," he told Channel Nine.

Earlier more than 300 people were evacuated aboard a Turkish Airlines flight after Turkish soldiers cleared the runway.

Senol Celik, who identified himself as a Turkish embassy employee, said people "threw themselves in front of the plane".

"They wanted to board the plane. They wanted to escape Afghanistan," he said.

Shafi Arifi, who had a ticket to travel to Uzbekistan on Sunday, was unable to board his plane because it was packed with people who had raced across the tarmac and climbed aboard, with no police or airport staff in sight.

"There was no room for us to stand," the 24-year-old said.

"Children were crying, women were shouting, young and old men were so angry and upset, no one could hear each other. There was no oxygen to breathe."