'At Least 3 Dead' After Taliban Opens Fires At Afghan Protesters: Report

At least three individuals were reportedly killed and more than a dozen injured after members of the Taliban opened fire at Afghan protesters in Jalalabad on Wednesday (August 18).

Two witnesses and a former police official confirmed the deaths took place after local protesters attempted to install Afghanistan's national flag at a square in Jalalabad, which is about 150 kilometers (90 miles) east of Kabul, Reuters reports.

A witness told CNN the protesters were met with violence from the responding Taliban militants, who fired into the crowd and beat up some of the Afghan locals.

Videos and photos of the protests show crowds climbing on a monument with the Afghan flag, while other angles show protesters waving it through the streets of Jalalabad, with some videos including gunshots heard, forcing the large crowd to disperse.

"I wanted to support the Afghan flag and stop the Taliban from desecrating the Afghan flag,” one protester told CNN. “Then the shooting started and the Taliban surrounded me and threatened and beat me.”

Another protester told CNN they still planned to protest again “to prevent the Taliban from desecrating the Afghan flag" in spite of the group's violent response.

CNN reports the protests were led by youths and participants ranged in all age groups.

On Monday (August 16), U.S. officials confirmed "at least seven people" died during an incident in which Afghan civilians held onto an American military jet as it took off from Kabul's international airport, the Associated Press reported.

Senior military officials spoke to the AP anonymously amid the ongoing operation and confirmed the casualties, which included several individuals who fell from the plane as it was airborne.

Dozens of Afghan civilians desperate to escape their country amid the Taliban's takeover were seen clinging to a U.S. military plane as it took off from Kabul's airport.

CBS News reports at least one person was seen falling off the plane "from a significant height" as it ascended off the runway at Hamid Karzai International Airport in the now viral video.

Hundreds of individuals swarmed onto the tarmac of the airport on Monday and a large crowd ran along the U.S. C-130 transport plane, with some clinging to its wheels and any parts within grabbing reach as the plan quickly moved down the runway.

Dozens were spotted attempting to climb onto a civilian aircraft full of foreign nationals earlier in the day as it took off from the runway.

The distress among Afghan civilians comes after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan's capital city, Kabal, effectively forcing the entire country and its government to be under the group's rule.

The presidential palace is also now under Taliban control after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, prohibiting any potential attempts to form a transitional government.

The Taliban take over comes after the U.S. withdrew troops from Afghanistan, nearly 20 years after American troops drove the group out of power and continued to have a presence in the country until recent evacuation.

CNN reports the U.S. defense secretary approved 1,000 more American troops to move into Afghanistan amid the ongoing situation, bringing the total number of arriving troops to 6,000.