7 reported dead amid chaos at Kabul airport as desperate Afghans try to flee

KABUL, Afghanistan — Wrenching scenes unfolded Monday at Kabul’s airport as thousands of Afghans desperate to flee their Taliban-conquered homeland clambered over barriers and thronged the tarmac, with some even clinging to the side of a U.S. military transport plane before falling away. At least seven people were reported to have died in the chaos.

The American military has taken control of the evacuation of diplomatic staff and allies, which has turned into a harrowing capstone on the two-decade U.S. military mission. But the deadly tumult left the airlift effort in crisis. All flights, civilian and military, were suspended until the runway was secured, but Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said later that airport operations had