FOREIGN Secretary Dominic Raab has admitted that "hundreds" of UK Nationals have been left stranded in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan following the removal of UK armed forces over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The minister said he was unable to give a “definitive” figure on how many Afghans the UK had failed to airlift to safety after the Taliban seized power.

Western forces left the country after 20 years over the weekend in which they attempted to defeat the Taliban and install a new democratic political system and functioning army, which collapsed in dramatic style in recent weeks as the Taliban swiftly took back the war-torn nation ahead off the planned exit by Western troops by August 31.

Raab did not rule out the RAF taking part in air strikes to target the ISIS terror group in Afghanistan in coming weeks.

Mr Raab did not dismiss the possibility that thousands of Afghans and UK nationals could have been left behind following the departure of British troops ahead of their American counterparts.

Instead, he said: “It’s very difficult to give you a firm figure.

"I can tell you that for UK nationals we’ve secured since April over 5,000, and we’re in the low hundreds (remaining).”

With the threat of ISIS remaining, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston indicated the RAF could strike Isis-K targets in Afghanistan.

He said: “Ultimately what this boils down to is that we’ve got to be able to play a global role in the global coalition to defeat Daesh, whether it’s strike, or whether it’s moving troops or equipment into a particular country, at scale and at speed.

“If there’s an opportunity for us to contribute I am in no doubt that we will be ready to – that will be anywhere where violent extremism raises its head, and is a direct or indirect threat to the UK and our allies.”

Mr Raab declined to rule out such strikes.

“In extremis, we always reserve the right to exercise lawful self defence and we would, of course, never rule that out in particular in relation to dealing with terrorist groups,” Raab added.