A Taliban official told Associated Press that the terrorist organisation will soon declare the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the presidential palace in the capital, Kabul.

For the unversed, this was the name of the country under the Taliban government ousted by US-led forces after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s embattled president Ashraf Ghani left the country on 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 entered the capital early on Sunday. 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.