Afghan forces surrender Bagram airbase, prison housing 5,000 inmates to Taliban

Bagram district chief Darwaish Raufi said Sunday that the surrender handed the one-time American base over to the insurgents.

Taliban fighters stand guard in Kunduz city, northern Afghanistan. (File Photo | AP) 

KABUL: An Afghan official says forces at Bagram air base, home to a prison housing 5,000 inmates, have surrendered to the Taliban.

Bagram district chief Darwaish Raufi said Sunday that the surrender handed the one-time American base over to the insurgents.

The prison housed both Taliban and Islamic State group fighters.

It came as the Taliban entered the outskirts of Kabul.