Taliban rings airport; protests turn violent in Afghanistan, three dead

Sharp objects, sticks used to beat women and children, who were desperately trying to enter Kabul airport

At least three people were killed in anti-Taliban protests in the Afghan city of Jalalabad on Wednesday, witnesses said, as the militant group tried to set up a government and Western countries stepped up evacuations of diplomats and civilians. 

Over a dozen people were injured after Taliban militants opened fire on protesters in the eastern city, two witnesses and a former police official told Reuters. The witnesses said the deaths took place when local residents tried to install Afghanistan's national flag at a square in Jalalabad, some 150 km (90 miles) from the capital on the main road to Pakistan.

Taliban spokesmen