TERRIFIED Afghanis have begun fleeing the Taliban as the militants sweep across the country in the wake of UK and US forces withdrawing.

       Taliban forces have unleashed a reign of terror in recent weeks and seized control of a third of the country after the last of the American troops left.

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       Woman and children fleeing their homes as the Taliban advance Credit: EPA 4

       The militants have seized large parts of Afghanistan Credit: Getty

       Hundreds of Afghan soldiers have already fled across the border into neighbouring Tajikistan as the terror group sweeps through the country and leaves it on the verge of collapse.

       Now anyone who can is leaving the country as fast as they can, The Sunday Times reports.

       According to the paper, second-hand market in Kabul is full of carpets, kitchenware and other goods as families are selling to raise money to flee.

       “There is a real sense of foreboding,” says Kate Clark, director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network.

       Nader Nadery, a former human rights activist now civil servant, said the Taliban are simply biding their time.

       The barbaric Taliban of old, which banned women from working and girls from going to school, has not changed, he said.

       In one province, women fled as Taliban warnings came over loudspeakers for them to stay at home.

       Some women have vowed to fight back and took to the streets with rifles and rocket launchers telling the Taliban they were "ready for a fight".

       But there is a fear that the country could once again return to the barbaric rule of the Taliban, with pubic executions and flogging.

       Last week the Taliban claimed to have control of 85 per cent of Afghanistan after seizing a key checkpoint on the border with Iran.

       Fighters tore down the Afghan government flag at Islam Qala hours after Joe Biden's speech defending his decision to pull out all US troops.

       It comes as those who Brits who sacrificed so much fighting in the country say they feel betrayed.

       Stuart Pearson, whose leg was blown off while rescuing a comrade from a minefield near Kajaki Dam in Helmand in 2006, told The Sun: “I lost friends out there. It feels wasted.”

       Last week US forces quietly left Bagram air base, once the centre of operations with 10,000 personnel stationed there.

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       They did not tell Afghan comrades they were going and set the lights on a timer to switch off 20 minutes after the last plane took off, the BBC reported.

       That came after the Taliban seized hundreds of armoured trucks and artillery units left behind by American forces.

       And it is feared the nation could become a new haven for terrorist forces wanting to strike out against the West, with The Sun Online revealing concerns new training camps could be operational by September.

       Afghan National Army troops have been battling the Taliban

       Taliban tear down Afghan flag after seizing key checkpoint into Iran as terror group 'claim control of 85% of country’