Half a million US weapons left in Afghanistan sold to militant groups affiliated with al-Qaeda: Report

An explosive report found that over half a million US weapons obtained by the Taliban in Afghanistan have been “lost, sold or smuggled” to several militant groups. The revelation, made in a BBC report, claims that the United Nations believes some of these weapons have fallen into the hands of al-Qaeda affiliates.

A former Afghan official, who asked to remain anonymous, told the BBC that the Taliban took control of around one million weapons and pieces of military equipment after it regained control of Kabul in 2021 . The official said that many Afghan soldiers surrendered or fled, abandoning their weapons and vehicles when the Taliban took over the country. The source noted that several military equipment were simply left behind by US forces.

As per the report, the cache included American-made firearms, such as M4 and M16 rifles, as well as other older weapons in Afghan possession that were accumulated from decades of conflict. Sources told the BBC that during the closed-door meeting in Doha last year, the Taliban admitted to the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee that at least half of this equipment is now “unaccounted” for.

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UN raises a new alarm

In a report published in February, the United Nations raised concerns that these weapons may have reached the hands of al-Qaeda affiliates. The international body argued groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, and Yemen’s Ansarullah movement were accessing Taliban-captured weapons or buying them on the black market.

When the BBC asked Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban government, about the latest revelation, the Taliban official said that it took the “protection and storage of weapons very seriously.” “All light and heavy weapons are securely stored. We strongly reject claims of smuggling or loss,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a 2023 UN report, the body said that the Taliban allowed local commanders to retain 20 per cent of the seized US weapons. These commanders are affiliated with the Taliban but often have a degree of autonomy in their regions. The UN also noted that “gifting of weapons is widely practised between local commanders and fighters to consolidate power. The black market remains a rich source of weaponry for the Taliban”.

Trump’s tryst with weapons

In the past, Trump has repeatedly said that he will reclaim weapons from Afghanistan. The Republican firebrand often mentioned how $85bn of advanced weaponry was left in the country once the Taliban took over.

“Afghanistan is one of the biggest sellers of military equipment in the world, you know why? They’re selling the equipment that we left,” Trump said during his first cabinet meeting of the new administration. “I want to look into this. If we need to pay them, that’s fine, but we want our military equipment back,” he added.

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In response to Trump’s remarks, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesperson, told Afghan state TV: “We seized these weapons from the previous administration and will use them to defend the country and counter any threats.”

Ever since the takeover, the Taliban has been frequently seen parading American weapons, including at Bagram Airfield, which served as the main US-NATO base. Hence, it’ll be interesting to see how Trump would react to the latest revelation.