Updated August 16, 2021 at 2:15 PM ET
Taliban fighters entered Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan on Sunday, further tightening their grip on the country as panicked workers fled government offices and helicopters landed at the embassy.
Here is a look around Afghanistan as the Taliban took over the cities and provinces around the country.
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![<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>People climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport to depart.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cb8b3e5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1977+0+0/resize/880x580!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F16%2Fgettyimages-1234713059-edit_custom-401c0a9da3d073e104b0c02278f6f3dd810d1476.jpg)
Wakil Kohsar / AFP/Getty Images
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AFP/Getty Images
![<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>Taliban members are seen near Hamid Karzai International Airport as thousands of Afghans rush to flee.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8f33788/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1688+0+0/resize/880x495!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F16%2Fgettyimages-1234713851-edit_custom-26764fa4ee39105883796ae8747e4846c4af3822.jpg)
Haroon Sabawoon / Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
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Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
![<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>Taliban fighters stand guard in front of the Hamid Karzai International Airport.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4f2d483/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1998+0+0/resize/880x586!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F16%2Fap21228406412519-edit_custom-34fa289868d084700bbd403b51675f626d8ef370.jpg)
Rahmat Gul / AP
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AP
![<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>People move towards the Kabul airport to leave Kabul.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/072717e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1996+0+0/resize/880x585!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F16%2Fgettyimages-1234713516-edit_custom-405f754c5f5b32bda63dec5bd49a8f17f2952bc1.jpg)
Wakil Kohsar / AFP/Getty Images
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AFP/Getty Images
![<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>A family sits along the tarmac as they wait to leave the Kabul airport. Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Getty Images](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1d4f63d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1996+0+0/resize/880x585!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F16%2Fgettyimages-1234713660-edit_custom-ad916be6c47dc6688a7172c8e01dd4ab83c6260c.jpg)
Wakil Kohsar / AFP/Getty Images
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AFP/Getty Images
![<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>A US soldier points his gun towards an Afghan passenger at the Kabul airport.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/337be5b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1998+0+0/resize/880x586!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F16%2Fgettyimages-1234712759-edit_custom-b3a366d2c3837c09679e7e529e579b0e083967e0.jpg)
Wakil Kohsar / AFP/Getty Images
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AFP/Getty Images
![<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris hold a video conference with the national security team to discuss Afghanistan.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8ebd6eb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1998+0+0/resize/880x586!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F16%2Fgettyimages-1234714176_custom-42488e954b48f12337cb162677334b8a9e19b2b7.jpg)
The White House / Getty Images
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Getty Images
![<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>Afghan families wait by the luggage conveyor belt while waiting to leave at the Kabul airport.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/563f992/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1996+0+0/resize/880x585!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F16%2Fgettyimages-1234713824-edit_custom-d20ee1711857c2bb6089fa757f3b1cea14d60cd0.jpg)
Wakil Kohsar / AFP/Getty Images
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AFP/Getty Images
![<strong>Mon., Aug. 16: </strong>Arif Oryakhail embraces head office Giovanni Grandi after they disembarked from the Afghani capital with a group of Italian diplomats and civilians at Rome's Fiumicino international airport.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e8b5b65/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1998+0+0/resize/880x586!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F16%2Fap21228533053750-edit_custom-601bb5af6975207ae264acb894938e46f0510501.jpg)
Riccardo De Luca / AP
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AP
![<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fd908c0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4003x2748+0+0/resize/880x604!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fnewnewap21227740995379_custom-c2480e936b4d8a0486b7881fce43c3e306c6e356.jpg)
Zabi Karimi / AP
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AP
![<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6a42641/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5300x3453+0+0/resize/880x573!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-0184_custom-07972534f2faec134c708c73af05ee0e68be9b38.jpg)
Rahmat Gul / AP
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AP
![<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Kandahar, southwest Afghanistan.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/211772e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3641x2529+0+0/resize/880x611!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-0186_custom-8fce791123137be2bdf91018a4af3a6c0f62f051.jpg)
Sidiqullah Khan / AP
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AP
![<strong>Sun., Aug. 15</strong>: Taliban fighters raise their flag at the Ghazni provincial governor's house, in Ghazni, southeastern, Afghanistan.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f5fd36d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5156x3443+0+0/resize/880x588!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-0187_custom-d24c745fdffca4ea6dc75c3d44857b295177832c.jpg)
Gulabuddin Amiri / AP
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AP
![<strong>Sun., Aug. 15</strong>: Taliban fighters sit on a vehicle along the street in Jalalabad province on August 15, 2021.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1a9e38c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3200x1702+0+0/resize/880x468!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-0188_custom-0829bde9b22e4a579952f34944ec4df3ac327977.jpg)
/ AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
![<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> Taliban fighters sit over a vehicle on a street in Laghman province.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e9c394a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3400x2241+0+0/resize/880x580!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-0190_custom-27f826dbf4eb3bfb51acf68473fda1f80d4dcbff.jpg)
/ AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
![<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> Afghan people line up outside AZIZI Bank to take out cash as the Bank suffers amid money crises in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/53122ca/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3573x2051+0+0/resize/880x505!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-0191_custom-975c38eef4beec3065b747bfb48988627ca2dabd.jpg)
/ Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
![<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> An Afghan family carrying belongings on their way to flee Kabul city, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a24b30b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3831x2262+0+0/resize/880x520!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-0193_custom-7aefa17f16e7e1580e798199820d8d7ac83768d0.jpg)
/ Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
![<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> A Pakistani soldier stands guard as stranded Afghan nationals return to Afghanistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/545624b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3384x2272+0+0/resize/880x591!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-0194_custom-8d0a0234992b3f9b3c9ac1717a8d4fb52036fea2.jpg)
/ AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
![<strong>Sun., Aug. 15:</strong> Pakistani soldiers check the documents of stranded Afghan nationals wanting to return to Afghanistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/60f9191/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2869x1914+0+0/resize/880x587!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-0196_custom-e53a88cfc641c90c3862d1eec6d09a917c473990.jpg)
/ AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
![<strong>Sat., Aug. 14:</strong> Afghan policemen stand guard at a checkpoint along the road in Kabul.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e90740f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5013x3345+0+0/resize/880x587!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-0198_custom-2f4f4c5713cddaa4f4f254af3f1f4fca5b8c5cb3.jpg)
Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
![<strong>Sat., Aug. 14:</strong> Taliban fighters pose on the back of a vehicle in the city of Herat, west of Kabul.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/08891ee/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5147x3452+0+0/resize/880x590!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-01100_custom-291767e36d7f702bb930eb8e68548b73f128b42f.jpg)
Hamed Sarfarazi / AP
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AP
![<strong>Sat., Aug. 14:</strong> Afghans wait in long lines for hours at the passport office as many are desperate to have their travel documents ready to go on in Kabul.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/489eb57/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5362x3584+0+0/resize/880x588!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-01101_custom-8c0dd6193e801efb1a1f862ceffb0d2ecf85e576.jpg)
Paula Bronstein / Getty Images
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Getty Images
![<strong>Sat., Aug. 14:</strong> Passengers walk to the departures terminal of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a1851ef/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4637x3476+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-01102_custom-57618f33eb41f7e45367f6c6b23356ed40c1a875.jpg)
Rahmat Gul / AP
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AP
![<strong>Sat., Aug. 14:</strong> A Taliban fighter looks on as he stands at the city of Ghazni.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/adbf6be/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3852x2590+0+0/resize/880x592!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-01104_custom-e6dd17ce8bcda910b590b5fbabf124e8bc8fce69.jpg)
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Reuters
![<strong>Sat., Aug. 14:</strong> A small group of Afghans eat their meal quietly outside of their vehicle which they also use to live in temporarily, in the corner of a parking area near the makeshift camps at Shahr-e-Naw Park in Kabul.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/47a9c34/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5958x3975+0+0/resize/880x587!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-01105_custom-f7c33e08a22df7e72cedb0d1f965e2a0724633ca.jpg)
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
![<strong>Fri., Aug. 13:</strong> Pakistani soldiers, right, check stranded Afghan nationals at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/de19654/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2891x1921+0+0/resize/880x585!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-01106_custom-691094cc208b669905d8d8afd9fe6436fb171935.jpg)
/ AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
![<strong>Fri., Aug. 13:</strong> Displaced Afghan women and children from Kunduz pray at a mosque that is sheltering them.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1a17844/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5371x3602+0+0/resize/880x590!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-01107_custom-e500bbcbb1266beee25a481436262bd457f56c86.jpg)
Paula Bronstein / Getty Images
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Getty Images
![<strong>Fri., Aug. 13:</strong> Internally displaced Afghans from northern provinces, who fled their home due to fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security personnel, take refuge in a public park Kabul.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4c7525f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6708x4476+0+0/resize/880x587!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-01108_custom-b8a110f8737f1ff4446195fa159a1e27183653e0.jpg)
Rahmat Gul / AP
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AP
![<strong>Fri., Aug. 13:</strong> Taliban fighters stand guard over surrendered Afghan security members forces in the city of Ghazni.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2134d2e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5156x3425+0+0/resize/880x585!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2Fafghan-01109_custom-97393dcf988ff3c32a1282121bc9d2f06ce6f6ef.jpg)
Gulabuddin Amiri / AP
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AP