The fraught situation in Afghanistan has underlined the need for a European rapid-reaction force to “act quickly in an emergency”, the EU’s top diplomat has said.

Unlike the US, the EU was not able to send soldiers to secure Kabul airport at short notice, Josep Borrell said.

He said EU governments should “draw lessons from this experience” to ensure they are collectively better prepared for crises in the future.

“The EU must be able to intervene to protect our interests when the Americans don’t want to be involved,” he told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, external.

The Afghan branch of Islamic State (IS) says it was behind an attempted rocket attack on Kabul’s airport on Monday.

The Islamic State Khorasan Province – known as IS-K – said on its social media channels that the attack was “successful”, but officials said the five rockets were intercepted.

The US had previously warned IS-K could attempt rocket attacks on the airport ahead of a planned withdrawal on 31 August.

IS-K also claimed responsibility for a Thursday suicide bombing at the airport which killed more than 170 Afghan civilians and 13 members of the US military.

Image source, Getty Images

The US flew a further 1,200 people out of Kabul airport on Sunday, the White House announced on Monday, as the evacuation operation enters its final day.

That is less than half the number of people evacuated during the previous 24 hours and shows the slow-down in flights as the US prepares for its final withdrawal from Afghanistan on Tuesday.

So far, nearly 120,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since 14 August, the day before the Taliban seized the capital Kabul.

Most other countries, including the UK, have already withdrawn all their troops and halted evacuations from the airport.

The Taliban have arrested an influential Afghan cleric who acted an advisor to the ousted president, Ashraf Ghani.

Maulvi Mohammad Sardar Zadran was the former head of Afghanistan's national council of religious scholars, the country's largest religious organisation. His son said he'd been seized by the Taliban in Khost province. A photo has been released appearing to show Mr Sardar Zadran blindfolded and seated.

The cleric has a large following and is reported to have called for a revolt against the Taliban.

Image source, EPA

The UN has warned that "a far greater humanitarian crisis is just beginning" as international airlifts out of Kabul come to an end.

"The scenes at Kabul airport these past few days have sparked an outpouring of compassion around the world at the fear and desperation of thousands of Afghans," said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.

"But when these images have faded from our screens, there will still be millions who need the international community to act."

Around 3.5 million of the estimated 39 million people living in Afghanistan have been displaced - more than half a million of them in 2021 alone - Grandi said, urging the global community to continue to support humanitarian programmes.

He called on neighbouring countries to keep their borders open to those fleeing the violence, but added that other countries "must share this humanitarian responsibility" - especially given the large numbers already hosted in Iran and Pakistan.

The Taliban have accused the US forces in Kabul of acting illegally on foreign soil after they carried out a drone strike on Sunday, to prevent further attacks on the airport.

In an interview with Chinese television, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the US should have reported any threat to the group instead.

The victims' relatives have told the BBC that 10 civilians were killed, including six children.

The US military is currently investigating the drone hit.

Image source, EPA/Stringer

It's been a busy few hours of updates as US evacuation efforts at Kabul airport wind down ahead of the troops' withdrawal on Tuesday.

Here's a roundup of the key headlines:

• The US says its anti-missile system has intercepted up to five rockets which were fired towards Kabul airport on Monday. The White House has stressed the attack would not interrupt the evacuation operation
• The US military is investigating after at least nine Afghan civilians were reportedly killed in a US drone strike on Sunday which aimed to prevent an attack on the airport
• The military said the strike targeted a vehicle carrying at least one person associated with the Afghan branch of the Islamic State group
• But family at the scene have told the BBC that 10 of their relatives, including six children were killed
• Smoke has been seen rising from Kabul airport, but the source is unknown, according to the Reuters news agency
• The UN's High Commissioner for Refugees has said the ending of evacuations marks the beginning of a much larger migration crisis

• The UK government has said it is sceptical of the Taliban's promise to allow eligible Afghans to leave the country, but is "willing to engage" with the militants

Image source, Reuters

Smoke has been seen rising from Kabul airport as the US evacuations from Afghanistan enter their final stage.

The source of the smoke is unknown, Reuters news agency is reporting, but earlier on Monday the US said it had intercepted five rockets that had been launched towards the airport.

More than 100,000 foreign nationals and Afghans have left via the airport since evacuation efforts began on 14 August - a day before the capital was taken over by Taliban forces.

However, flights have slowed following a deadly attack at the airport last week, and a number of countries - including the UK - have already withdrawn from the airport.

The US is set to leave by Tuesday, under a deadline agreed with Taliban forces.

As we reported earlier, the US military is investigating after at least nine Afghan civilians were reportedly killed in Sunday's US drone strike which aimed to prevent an attack on Kabul airport.

The military says the strike targeted a vehicle carrying at least one person associated with the Afghan branch of the Islamic State group.

BBC's Secunder Kermani, who is at the site in Kabul, says family members told him that 10 of their relatives were killed, including six children, when a missile struck a car that was being parked at the family home.

"They say they have no connection to IS, and the intelligence was wrong.

"In fact they say, a number of those killed had previously worked with international forces and companies," Kermani says.

Pictures taken by the BBC's Malik Mudassir show the scale of devastation where the drone struck.

Our correspondent says some of those killed were on their way to the airport and had their visas and documents with them.

Image source, Getty Images

Germany is working to get thousands of civilians – mainly Afghans – out of the country, Germany’s foreign minister says.

Heiko Maas is on a visit to neighbouring countries, including Uzbekistan on Sunday, to ease their passage to Germany if they can get over the Afghanistan border.

In comments in Uzbekistan, he described it as a very difficult task which would involve guarantees from the Taliban.

After the Kabul bomb attack last week, Maas also voiced the need to avoid people gathering in numbers in Kabul. But he said only those with permission to come to Germany would be helped.

Some 10,000 people are on the list of those Germany is hoping to receive, ARD TV reports.

These include locals who were employed by the German military or government, but also especially vulnerable civilians such as rights activists. It’s estimated, that with family members, the true number involved could be 40,000.

Germany’s evacuation flights from Kabul ended on Thursday. It brought out more than 5,300 people, most of them Afghans.

The Taliban's supreme commander Hibatullah Akhundzada is in the Afghan province of Kandahar.

The group's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, was quoted by various outlets as saying that Akhundzada would make a public appearance soon.

Akhundzada, who is believed to be in his 60s, has led the Taliban since May 2016 and is in charge of political, military and religious affairs. There have been various reports in the past that he was dead.

In the 1980s, he participated in the Islamist resistance against the Soviet military campaign in Afghanistan, but his reputation is more that of a religious leader than a military commander.

Akhundzada worked as head of the Sharia Courts during the group's rule of the 1990s and has lived most of his life in Afghanistan.

However, according to experts, he maintains close ties with the so-called "Quetta Shura" - the Afghan Taliban leaders said to be based in the Pakistani city of Quetta.

Read more about the Taliban's leadership here.

After taking control of Afghanistan two weeks ago, the Taliban pledged that there would be no threats against journalists.

In some media outlets, women have continued reporting from the capital Kabul.

But many observers remain sceptical of the Taliban's reassurances - and the changes for some broadcasters have been stark.

One TV host welcomed viewers and addressed the fall of the former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani - all under the watchful gaze of armed Taliban members standing behind him.

Elsewhere in the country, Afghanistan's Pajhwok news agency reported that the Taliban have banned women's voices and music from being broadcast on television or radio.

According to Reporters Without Borders, around 100 media outlets have stopped operating since the beginning of the Taliban advance.

We've seen many pictures in recent days of refugees arriving in the UK on evacuation flights from Afghanistan.

Arrivals on official flights enter a 10-day Covid quarantine in a hotel as government officials and local councils try to find them permanent homes.

But what support is available for refugees once they're here?

The Afghanistan and Central Asian Association in Feltham, in west London, is a couple of miles away from Heathrow airport where more than 1,000 Afghan refugees have been staying in hotels.

The organisation appealed for donations to help these families and has been inundated with items like toiletries, books, stationery, toys, clothes and food, in just a few days, its founder, Nooralhaq Hasimi, tells the BBC.

One volunteer, Tana, adds that while refugees have their "basic needs" looked after at the hotel, they are worried about what happens when they leave.

"They have no idea where they're going, which area, who they are going to meet."

Ex-Army major, Alice Bromage, who served two tours of Afghanistan and has been co-ordinating assistance for people there, says she initially received appeals from those she worked with, but has since had "desperate" messages from all over the world as people ask for help for their friends and family in Afghanistan.

"I feel incredibly privileged that someone trusts me enough to be able to say 'I've got the Taliban coming to my house, please can you help'.

"They are putting themselves at risk by contacting us, so the least I can do is do what I can at this end.

"Is it ideal? No of course it's not, but it's the realities of warfare, that people get lost in a melee of large organisations and the government is doing everything that it can, but that personal touch is someone reaching out to someone that they trust or they know and so I'm just glad they have."

You can read more about what Alice and her fellow veterans have been doing to help, here.

Image source, Samantha Holden RAF/MoD/PA Wire

The final flights bringing British troops home from Afghanistan have arrived - ending the UK's 20-year military engagement in the now Taliban-controlled country.

The last British flight left the capital Kabul on Saturday, and the ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Laurie Bristow, arrived at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Sunday morning.

He has been praised for staying behind to help personally process visas at the airport.

More than 1,000 British troops were in the capital at the height of the evacuation operation that saw more than 15,000 people airlifted by the UK since 14 August.

One Afghan refugee, Soman Noori, 26, gave birth to a baby girl at 30,000 feet while on an evacuation flight destined for Birmingham.

With no doctor on board, the cabin crew safely delivered the baby girl, named Havva, or Eve in English.

It is feared that about 800 to 1,100 eligible Afghans, including those who worked for the UK government, and 100 to 150 British nationals have been unable to make evacuation flights, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Friday.

However this morning Foreign Office minister James Cleverly told the BBC it is "impossible" to know the precise figure.

Image source, Getty Images

A video recently posted on social media showed Taliban fighters looking on as an iconic piece of US materiel (military hardware), external - a Black Hawk helicopter - was piloted across Kandahar airport.

The four-blade multi-purpose aircraft was just taxiing on the tarmac, but the exercise sent a message to the world: the Taliban were no longer a group of ragtag soldiers wielding Kalashnikov assault rifles on battered pickup trucks.

Elsewhere, since the fall of Kabul on 15 August to the hardline Islamist group, the Taliban's fighters have been pictured showing off a host of US-made weaponry and vehicles.

• How do the Taliban make money?

Some of them were seen in complete combat gear in social media posts and couldn't be distinguished from other special forces from across the world. There was no characteristic long beard, or traditional salwar kameez outfit, and certainly no rusted weapons. They looked the part.

They seized these weapons after troops from the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (Ands) surrendered one city after the other.

Read more here.

Image source, Reuters

The US says its anti-missile system in Kabul has intercepted rockets fired towards the airport - a day before the US plans to complete its evacuation operation.

More details have now emerged about Monday's incident - here's what we know so far:

• The US says it intercepted as many as five rockets fired early in the morning
• Initial reports did not indicate any US casualties, a US official told Reuters news agency
• Some local residents say shrapnel fell on their homes
• The rocket attack was mounted from the back of a vehicle, according to reports in Afghan media
• No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack
• President Joe Biden has been briefed, a White House statement says, adding that American operations at Kabul airport are continuing "uninterrupted"

Image source, Reuters

A "dignified transfer" ceremony has taken place at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, as the 13 US soldiers killed in the Kabul airport attack were returned in flag-draped coffins.

President Joe Biden attended as the fourth commander-in-chief to witness the military ritual, designated for those killed in foreign combat.

The US has said it is investigating reports that civilians were killed in a drone strike in Kabul on Sunday.

US officials say the strike targeted a vehicle carrying at least one person associated with an Afghan branch of the Islamic State (IS) group and had prevented another deadly suicide attack at the airport.

• Rockets fired at Kabul airport

But social media users suggested that a number of civilians, including children, had been killed.

"We are aware of reports of civilian casualties following our strike on a vehicle in Kabul today," US Central Command spokesman Capt Bill Urban said.

"We know that there were substantial and powerful subsequent explosions resulting from the destruction of the vehicle, indicating a large amount of explosive material inside that may have caused additional casualties.

"It is unclear what may have happened, and we are investigating further. We would be deeply saddened by any potential loss of innocent life."

US President Joe Biden previously warned that further attacks on Kabul airport were likely, after a suicide bombing on Thursday killed around 170 people.

The UK government has said it is sceptical of the Taliban's promise to allow eligible Afghans to leave the country, but is "willing to engage" with the militants.

"If they aspire to be treated like a government, we will consider how we engage with them based on their actions," Foreign Office minister James Cleverly told the BBC.

He added that the government was committed to helping those who were unable to leave on UK flights from Kabul, despite the end of evacuations from the airport.

On the number of people left behind, Cleverly said it "impossible" to give a precise figure, after the UK opposition said it could be as high as 5,000.

As evacuations from Kabul draw to a close, the BBC's Lyse Doucet - who is in the city - says many people are still desperately trying to leave.

The final UK troops, diplomats and officials have now arrived home.

The US will complete its withdrawal on 31 August - the deadline agreed with the Taliban.