KABUL - Embattled Afghan government troops last night appeared to be abandoning the capital, with fighters of the rebel Taleban militia on the edge of the city, witnesses said.
A Taleban spokesman in Pakistan said the militia had captured an air base and a housing complex in Kabul.
A correspondent in the city said it was "like a ghost town" with troops abandoning checkpoints and tanks and trucks laden with government soldiers heading north.
The Taleban controls most of Afghanistan and is battling to oust President Burhanuddin Rabbani and impose strict Islamic order.