As US embassy staff haphazardly removed from Kabul, Blinken rejects comparison with Saigon

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that all the US embassy staff in Kabul are being moved to the airport as the Taliban attacked the Afghan capital.

Taliban fighters had been ordered to wait on the outskirts of Kabul, and the government admitted it was preparing for a "transfer of power."

LIVE: President Ghani leaves Afghanistan as Taliban enter capital Kabul

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"It's why we had forces on hand to make sure we could do this in a safe and orderly fashion. The compound itself, folks are leaving there and going to the airport," saidBlinkenwhile talking to ABC.

Even with the sudden withdrawal, he rejected comparisons with the 1975 chaotic departure of Americans from Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War.

"This is not Saigon," saidBlinken. "The fact of the matter is this: We went to Afghanistan 20 years ago with one mission in mind. That was to deal with the people that attacked us on 9/11. That mission has been successful."

"The US has succeeded in its mission to stop attacks on US."

"It's simply not in our interests to remain in Afghanistan," he added.

In an astonishingly quick rout, the Taliban forced government forces to abandon Kabul, who, without US assistance, proved unable to hold onto territory.

As Afghan security forces left parts of Kabul city and their checkpoints, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the forces entered the city to prevent looting and chaos.

The Afghani leader has also advised locals not to be scared by the Taliban and not to panic about their entry into the city.

Kabul's fall will mark the return of the Taliban to power two decades after it was toppled by US-led forces after the September 11 attacks.

(With inputs from agencies)