More than 250 Australian defence personnel and three air force transport jets are being rushed to the Middle East for a high-risk rescue mission for 130 Australians fleeing the Taliban amid a total collapse of Afghanistan’s government and the fall of its capital, Kabul.

Two months after the final Australian troops left Afghanistan as part of the Western coalition’s withdrawal following two decades of conflict, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the mercy dash as part Australia’s contribution to a global evacuation effort.