Above image: Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport on Aug. 16.

Thousands of people flooded Kabuls airport on Monday after Taliban insurgents overtook the capital, igniting fears of a return to the harsh version of Islamic rule of law and persecution of those who worked for Afghanistans former government or its security services.

Stunning photos taken at the Hamid Karzai International Airport captured Afghans panic, as they hauled their family members over barbed-wired walls and desperately clung to departing airplanes, some ultimately falling to their deaths . Similar evacuation attempts were being made on the ground at the countrys border, which is now controlled by the Taliban.

The horrors mark the end to a two-decade campaign, led by U.S. troops, to create a Western-backed government in the country.

Here are some of the photos taken amid the chaos.