The Taliban have begun entering the Afghan capital Kabul from all sides, the Afghan interior ministry said on Sunday, as US and European Union staff sought safety.

"Core" US team members were working from the Kabul airport, a US official said, while a NATO official said several EU staff had moved to a safer, undisclosed location in the capital.

After its lightning advance on the capital, the insurgent group ordered its fighters to refrain violence, allow safe passage to anyone seeking to leave and request women to head toprotected areas, said a Taliban leader in Doha.

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