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Afghanistan鈥檚 embattled president left the country Sunday, joining his fellow citizens and foreigners in a stampede fleeing the advancing Taliban and signaling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan.

The Taliban fanned out across the capital, and a group of fighters entered the presidential palace in Kabul. Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman and negotiator, told The Associated Press that the militants would hold talks in the coming days aimed at forming an 鈥渙pen, inclusive Islamic government."

A Taliban official earlier said the group would announce the creation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the palace, but those plans appeared to be on hold. That was the name of the country under Taliban rule before the militants were ousted by U.S.-led forces after the 9/11 attacks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The militants had earlier moved into a city gripped by panic, where helicopters raced overhead throughout the day to evacuate personnel from the U.S. Embassy. Smoke rose near the compound as staff destroyed important documents, and the American flag was lowered. Several other Western missions also prepared to pull their people out.

Afghans fearing that the Taliban聽听迟丑补迟听聽rushed to leave the country as well, lining up at cash machines to withdraw their life savings. The desperately poor 鈥� who had left homes in the countryside for the presumed safety of the capital 鈥斅犅爐hroughout the city.

Though the Taliban had promised a peaceful transition, the U.S. Embassy warned Americans late in the day to shelter in place and not try to get to the airport, where it said there were reports of gunfire. The embassy also suspended its own operations.

Still, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected comparisons to the U.S. pullout from Vietnam, as many watched in disbelief at the sight of helicopters landing in the embassy compound to take diplomats to a new outpost at Kabul International Airport.

鈥淭his is manifestly not Saigon,鈥� he said on ABC鈥檚 鈥淭his Week."

The American ambassador was among those evacuated, said officials who spoke condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss ongoing military operations. He was asking to return to the embassy, but it was not clear if he would be allowed to.

As the insurgents closed in Sunday, President Ashraf Ghani flew out of the country.

鈥淭he former president of Afghanistan left Afghanistan, leaving the country in this difficult situation," said Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council. "God should hold him accountable.鈥�

In a stunning rout, the Taliban seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week, despite the billions of dollars spent by the U.S. and NATO over nearly two decades to build up Afghan security forces. Just days earlier, an American military assessment estimated it would be a month before the capital would come under insurgent pressure.

The fall of Kabul marks the final chapter of America's longest war, which began after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks masterminded by al-Qaida's Osama bin Laden, then harbored by the Taliban government. A U.S.-led invasion dislodged the Taliban and beat them back, though America lost focus on the conflict in the chaos of the Iraq War.

For years, the U.S. has been looking for an exit for the war. Washington under then-President Donald Trump signed a deal with the Taliban in February 2020 that limited direct military action against the insurgents. That allowed the fighters to gather strength and move quickly to seize key areas when President Joe Biden announced his plans to withdraw all American forces by the end of this month.

On Sunday, the insurgents entered the outskirts of Kabul but initially remained outside of the city's downtown. Meanwhile, Taliban negotiators in the capital discussed a transfer of power, said an Afghan official. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the closed-doors negotiations, described them as 鈥渢ense.鈥�

It remained unclear when that transfer would take place and who among the Taliban was negotiating. The negotiators on the government side included former President Hamid Karzai, leader of Hizb-e-Islami political and paramilitary group Gulbudin Hekmatyar and Abdullah, who has been a vocal critic of Ghani.

Karzai himself appeared in a video posted online, his three young daughters around him, saying he remained in Kabul.

鈥淲e are trying to solve the issue of Afghanistan with the Taliban leadership peacefully,鈥� he said, while the roar of a passing helicopter could be heard overhead.

Afghanistan鈥檚 acting defense minister, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, didn鈥檛 hold back his criticism of the fleeing president.

鈥淭hey tied our hands from behind and sold the country,鈥� he wrote on Twitter. 鈥淐urse Ghani and his gang.鈥�

The insurgents tried to calm residents of the capital, insisting their fighters wouldn鈥檛 enter people鈥檚 homes or interfere with businesses. They also said they鈥檇 offer an 鈥渁mnesty鈥� to those who worked with the Afghan government or foreign forces.

But there have been reports of revenge killings and other brutal tactics in areas of the country the Taliban have seized in recent days 鈥� and the reports of gunfire at the airport raised the specter of more violence. One female journalist, weeping, sent voice messages to colleagues after armed men entered her apartment building and banged on her door.

鈥淲hat should I do? Should I call the police or Taliban?鈥� Getee Azami cried. It wasn't clear what happened to her after that.

Many chose to flee, rushing to the Kabul airport,聽聽as the Taliban now hold every border crossing. NATO said it was 鈥渉elping to maintain operations at Kabul airport to keep Afghanistan connected with the world.鈥�

One Afghan university student described feeling betrayed as she watched the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy.

鈥淵ou failed the younger generation of Afghanistan,鈥� said Aisha Khurram, 22, who is now unsure of whether she鈥檒l be able to graduate in two months' time. 鈥淎 generation ... raised in the modern Afghanistan were hoping to build the country with their own hands. They put blood, efforts and sweat into whatever we had right now."

Sunday began with the Taliban seizing the nearby city of Jalalabad 鈥� which had been the last major city besides the capital not in their hands. Afghan officials said the militants also took the capitals of Maidan Wardak, Khost, Kapisa and Parwan provinces, as well as the country's last government-held border post.

Later, Afghan forces at Bagram air base, home to a prison housing 5,000 inmates, surrendered to the Taliban, according to Bagram district chief Darwaish Raufi. The prison at the former U.S. base held both Taliban and Islamic State group fighters.

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Akhgar and Faiez reported from Istanbul and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Kathy Gannon in Guelph, Canada; Joseph Krauss in Jerusalem; 鈥婱atthew Lee in Washington; James LaPorta in Boca Raton, Florida; Aya Batrawy in Dubai; and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.