Warning, disturbing content: Taliban fighters open fire as Afghans protest
Videos from around the Kabul airport and from the Asadabad district of Kunar province show Afghans running for cover as Taliban fighters open fire during Independence Day protests.
Chaos is erupting across Afghanistan Thursday as Taliban fighters have been caught on video opening fire on crowds waving Afghan flags and celebrating the country’s Independence Day.
In one of the demonstrations in the eastern city of Asadabad, several people were killed, reports say.
A witness told Reuters that "hundreds of people" came out onto the streets but then several died after the Taliban started shooting at the crowd, triggering a stampede. However, it was not immediately clear which event caused the deaths.
The Afghanistan flag is seen in the eastern city of Asadabad on Thursday during a demonstration marking the country's Independence Day. (Fox News/Haroon Janjua )
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Footage from the area obtained by Fox News shows cyclists and a car racing through the streets of Asadabad while bearing the Afghanistan tri-color flag. In the background, gunshots could be heard.
Flag-waving demonstrators were also filmed marching through Kabul.
Demonstrators are seen marching in Kabul on Thursday, waving the Afghanistan flag. (Fox News/Haroon Janjua )
In another video obtained by Fox News, a crowd of men and women are heard chanting slogans while holding Afghanistan flags.
Elsewhere in Kabul, footage has emerged of a crowd taking cover near Kabul’s airport as armed men open fire.
In the video, a woman and her child were seen crouching as persistent shots ring out, sending people scattering.
People take cover near Kabul's airport as guns are fired Thursday. (Fox News/Haroon Janjua )
It was not immediately clear what sparked that scene.
Reports also have emerged of white Taliban flags being torn down by Afghans, according to Reuters.
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"Salute those who carry the national flag and thus stand for the dignity of the nation and the country," First Vice President Amrullah Saleh posted on Twitter.
The Aug. 19 Independence Day in Afghanistan celebrates a 1919 treaty that ended British rule there.
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