3 killed as US troops open fire in air at Kabul airport

US troops fired shots into the air and all commercial flights were cancelled at Kabul airport Monday as thousands of Afghans crowded onto the tarmac in the hope of catching any flight out after the weekend Taliban takeover.

Dramatic footage posted on social media showed a scene of chaos on the runway, with civilians frantically clambering up an already overcrowded and buckling set of airstairs.

It was a desperate bid to board a parked passenger plane and escape the city a day after the government’s collapse.

Panicked families trying to flee the capital carried overpacked luggage, with frightened children in tow.

The situation caused such a commotion that US troops fired into the air to restore order and all commercial flights were cancelled.

“I feel very scared here. They are firing lots of shots into the air,” the witness said, asking not to be named in case it jeopardised his chances of leaving.

The US State Department said American troops had secured the perimeter of the airport as they evacuate embassy employees and thousands of Afghans who worked for Washington’s interests since they toppled the Taliban in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The US embassy in Kabul tweeted to tell American nationals and Afghans to “not travel to the airport”.

But thousand more Afghans — even some with no links to the US-led coalition — showed up in the hope of getting out, even without tickets or visas for foreign destinations.

The bedlam at the airport came just hours after Taliban leaders ordered their fighters into Kabul to maintain order as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

“We are afraid to live in this city and we are trying to flee Kabul,” said a 25-year old man who also asked to be identified only as Ahmed.