Taliban enter Afghan capital Kabul and await ‘peaceful transfer’ of power

Anti-missile decoy flares are deployed as US Black Hawk military helicopters fly over the city of Kabul, Afghanistan (Rahmat Gul/AP)

Taliban fighters have entered Kabul and sought the unconditional surrender of the central government, officials said, as Afghans and foreigners alike raced for the exit, signalling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan.

The beleaguered central government meanwhile sought an interim administration, but increasingly had few cards to play.