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Panicked screams mixed with the sound of gunfire at Kabul airport today amid fresh chaos as thousands of Afghans desperate to escape Taliban rule pleaded with troops to be allowed on the only planes out of the country.

Women were filmed reaching their hands through iron railings towards US troops while screaming 'the Taliban are coming' in footage being circulated on Afghan social media accounts this morning. 

Taliban gunmen have now surrounded the airport - the only route out of Afghanistan for thousands of refugees stranded in the capital and nearby provinces - and are checking the documents of those trying to reach it. 

Islamist fighters were funnelling people towards a gate on the airport's civilian south side, demanding documents before occasionally allowing someone to pass. Each time the gate opened, dozens tried to rush inside - with gunshots fired to keep them back. 

Meanwhile more footage revealed crowds hard up against concrete perimeter walls on the airport's military north side, with shots being fired over the heads of men, women and children to keep them back.

Afghan translators and other visa holders trying to reach the airport have told MailOnline that they are actually in hiding near the airport, afraid to break cover and try to reach the runway in case the Islamists haul them away. 

Others who have braved the gates told of how they were crushed, trampled and molested amid the crowds - without making it on to a flight.