Turkish citizens in Afghanistan brought back to Turkey

ISTANBUL

Turkish citizens in Afghanistan were brought back to Turkey on Monday, a day after Afghanistan's capital fell to the Taliban.

A Turkish Airlines plane carrying 324 passengers left Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul at 11.45 local time (0715GMT) and landed at Istanbul Airport at 16.55 local time (1455GMT).

In the hours since, flights out of the airport have reportedly been suspended.

Under coronavirus rules, the passengers from Kabul were tested at Istanbul Airport for the virus upon arrival.

In capturing the capital Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban consolidated their hold over the entire country, and now are in the process of establishing their government, which fell after US-led foreign forces occupied the war-torn country in 2001.

*Writing by Busra Nur Cakmak