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       People carry the Afghanistan's national flag on the occasion of 102th Independence Day of the country in the Wazi Akbar khan area of Kabul on Aug. 19, 2021, amid the Taliban's military takeover of Afghanistan.

       HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP/Getty Images

       A Taliban official told Reuters on Thursday that the Islamist group’s leaders had begun discussing the future of Afghan security force members.

       The official said the group’s commanders and senior members had also begun registering all the arms and equipment left in Afghanistan by U.S. and other NATO forces.

       The Taliban cannot be blamed for the chaos and deaths in recent days at the airport in the capital Kabul, he said, as people rushed to leave the country after the Islamist insurgents took control.

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