Afghanistan news: US soldiers kill two armed men at Kabul airport as Pentagon deploys 7,000 troops

Thousands of Afghans swarmed the airport on Monday, forcing the US to order more troops in to manage the withdrawal

United States troops shot and killed two armed men at Kabul airport Monday after they fired on US forces, according to a Pentagon official.

The worsening security situation led to the Pentagon sending another battalion of 7,000 troops in to try to maintain order at the airport.

That would double the number of US forces who have been ordered to return to Afghanistan after the Taliban overran Afghan Government forces in days.

Seven people are confirmed to have been killed amid chaotic scenes at Hamid Karzai International Airport as US forces try to pull the remaining officials out of Afghanistan.

A Defense Department official told CNN the men who were shot dead on Monday were carrying weapons, but could not confirm whether they were members of the Taliban.

In a separate incident, a US soldier was shot at the airport. No further details were available immediately.

Thousands of Afghans rushed onto the tarmac of Kabul’s international airport Monday, some so desperate to escape the Taliban capture of their country that they held onto an American military jet as it took off and plunged to death.

CNN reporter Nick Paton Walsh described the scene at the airport as “chaotic” on Monday as thousands of Afghan people tried to board flights out of the country.

Taliban forces had commandeered Afghan military vehicles and were trying to keep crowds from rushing through the fences.

Footage captured on Monday showed people clinging on to a US military aircraft as it took off from the airport.

Earlier, at least five people were killed as hundreds of people tried to force their way onto planes leaving the Afghan capital, Reuters reported.