According to British media reports, the Afghan Taliban sold 500,000 U.S. weapons left behind by American forces to terrorist groups.
The report claims that after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, 500,000 weapons went missing, and these weapons were either sold or smuggled to terrorist organizations.
The United Nations has confirmed that these American weapons, left in Afghanistan, ended up in the hands of Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups. The UN report states that groups linked to Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan now have access to American arms.
The report also mentions that the Taliban informed the UN Security Council Committee that they could not account for at least half of the military equipment left behind. According to a Security Council official, nearly 500,000 pieces of military equipment are unaccounted for.
Following their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban seized nearly 1 million weapons and military equipment.
However, Taliban’s deputy spokesman, Hamdullah Fatrat, told the British media that they take the protection and storage of weapons seriously and that all small and heavy arms are securely stored. He strongly rejected any claims of smuggling or loss of weapons.
The report further mentions that according to a 2023 UN report, the Taliban instructed local commanders to keep 20% of the U.S. weapons, which led to an increase in black market activity.
A journalist from Kandahar shared that after the Taliban took power, U.S. weapons were openly sold in the market for nearly a year. Now, however, this trade has moved underground.
A report from SIGAR (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction) indicated that there is a shortage of weapons, and U.S. President Trump has stated that $85 billion worth of modern U.S. weapons were left behind in Afghanistan.