Taliban appear inside Afghan presidential palace

KABUL, Afghanistan – The Al-Jazeera news network is airing footage of a large group of Taliban fighters inside the presidential palace in the capital of Afghanistan.

The Taliban are expected to announce their takeover from the palace, renaming the country as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

The militants have taken over most of Afghanistan in a matter of days as the U.S. scrambles to withdraw after 20 years of war.

Britain’s Defense Ministry says U.K. troops have arrived in Kabul to help evacuate remaining Britons there.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after chairing a Cabinet emergency committee meeting Sunday that the priority is to get out British nationals, as well as Afghans who helped U.K. forces in Afghanistan over the past 20 years, “as fast as we can.”

“The ambassador is working round the clock, has been there in the airport to help process the applications,” he told Sky News. “We certainly have the means at the moment to get them out … It’s just a question of making sure that they’re able to do it over the next few days.”

The “vast bulk” of embassy staff and officials have already left Afghanistan, Johnson added.