Thousands of Afghans are fleeing to the border, but their bid to escape is being thwarted at Taliban-controlled crossings.

Even those who make it out of Afghanistan have discovered there is no escape because neighbouring countries are sending them back to their home country.

Their desperation to escape has only increased following today's ISIS bomb attack near Kabul airport that killed at least 13 people.

Afghans were already fleeing on foot to neighbouring countries such as Iran in a bid to escape after the UK told them to head to the border.

Many countries have ended their airlift operations.

But for those who have made the exhausting journey to Afghanistan's borders, freedom is not guaranteed. 

The Taliban now control all of Afghanistan's main border crossing points with neighbouring countries and the Islamic militants have made clear they do not want Afghans to leave the country. 

Only traders or those with valid travel visas or documents are being allowed to cross the borders, reports suggest.

For those who manage to cross the border into the neighbouring countries, many are being sent back to Afghanistan. 

Several hundred Afghans who reached Milak over the border in Iran last week were kept at the border by Iranian authorities and given food and drink to the refugees. 

But their renewed hope of safety was short-lived as they were sent back to Afghanistan. 

Iran has set up emergency tents for the refugees at their border with Afghanistan an Interior Ministry chief said that any Afghans who entered the country would, 'once conditions improve, be repatriated'.   

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan sent 150 Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan last week as per an agreement with the Taliban. 

The refugees had been given security guarantees and all have reported they were able to return safely to their homes after the 'necessary formalities', the ministry said in a statement.

It is unclear how many Afghans have crossed into the former Soviet republic as Taliban insurgents overran Afghanistan. The Tashkent government has denied that senior Afghan figures such as ethnic Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dustum were among them.

Adam Rutland, the Executive Director at the Centre for Information Resilience, told MailOnline: 'Afghans have no good options right now.

Even getting to potential exit points - the airport or land borders - is fraught with danger, particularly for those who have helped the UK and others. 

'Carrying the official documents that might help them gain a new life outside Afghanistan, could be a death sentence within.

'We should also be deeply concerned that the more desperate will fall prey to human traffickers, with all the harm and misery that entails.

Afghans wanting to leave are in an awful position. It's heart-breaking.'

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has urged the neighbouring countries to keep their borders open and let Afghans through.

'The vast majority of Afghans are not able to leave the country through regular channels,' a UNHCR spokesperson said last week.
'We continue to urge all countries neighbouring Afghanistan to maintain open borders, so that those seeking safety can find it.'

Meanwhile, thousands have been seen flocking to Spin Boldak in eastern Afghanistan in an attempt to cross the border into Chaman, Pakistan. 

Others have been seen travelling to Torkham further south in an attempt to flee to Pakistan - but the Taliban controls the road from Kabul which makes the journey treacherous. 

Journalist Harald Doornbos tweeted: 'Kabul-Jalalabad-Torkham road (Pakistan border) is wholly owned by Taliban. Impossible to use for people wanted by the Taliban. If you're in Kabul, really the only way out is to fly.'