An Update From Kabul

BIANNA GOLODRYGA: We turn now to correspondent Clarissa Ward, who is in Kabul. And, Clarissa, you just heard that conversation. What are you seeing and hearing from your sources on the ground about these advancements that we’re seeing from the Taliban?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it’s absolutely an alarming situation, Bianna, and no one could have predicted just how quickly the dominoes are all following. Herat now has fallen, the country’s third largest city, the Taliban there confiscating large amounts of military hardware and weaponry. And Kandahar, the second largest city, but also the sort of spiritual birthplace of the Taliban, the original capital for the Taliban’s Islamic emirate, is on the brink of falling. We were there last week. We were at a wedding hall that had been transformed into a sort of front-line position for Afghan forces. That position now has been completely overrun by the Taliban. And the M.P. who we spoke to while we were there, I have just spoken to him again. He says the city hasn’t fallen yet, but it will. He said that there are teams of 12 to 15 fighters of the Taliban who have essentially broken through the front line in the western part of the city, and are now causing chaos, popping up in the central square popping up, outside the governor’s house, shooting in the air, and really contributing to this sense of a complete lack of control. The situation here in Kabul, Bianna, is still relatively stable. It’s calm. I think a lot of people are skeptical that the Taliban would try to push their luck, if you will, by making an advance on the city. But, still, people here see the writing on the wall. And they are desperate now to get out of the country, particularly anyone who has worked with the military, who has worked with the U.S. Embassy, who has worked with NGOs or Western publications. And so there is definitely a growing sense of dread and panic in much of the country, Bianna.