Pentagon sending troops to Kabul to help evacuation of U.S. embassy

▶ Watch Video: Taliban gains ground near Afghanistan’s capital

A U.S. official tells CBS News the Pentagon is sending troops to Karzai International Airport in Kabul to help evacuate the embassy as the Taliban continues its offensive.

In the past week, the Taliban has overtaken at least 10 provincial capitals and Kandahar City is “in the process of falling” according to a U.S. official.

President Joe Biden earlier this year announced all U.S. troops would withdraw by the end of August, but the U.S. would maintain a diplomatic presence.

This is a breaking story. It will be updated.

Displaced Afghans arrive at a makeshift camp from the northern provinces desperately leaving their homes behind on August 10, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Paula Bronstein / Getty Images