US weapons left in Afghanistan sold to belligerent groups, say BBC sources

Half a million Weapons obtained from the Taliban in Afghanistan have been lost, sold or smuggled in belligerent Groups, sources have told the BBC – with the UN believes some have fallen into the hands of al -Qaeda's branches.

The Taliban took control of a million weapons and pieces of military equipment – which were funded most from the United States – when it Restore control of Afghanistan in 2021According to a former Afghan officer who talks to the anonymous BBC.

As the Taliban advanced through Afghanistan in 2021, many Afghan soldiers surrendered or escaped, abandoning their weapons and vehicles. Some equipment was simply left by US forces.

The cache included an American firearm, such as M4 and M16 rifles, as well as other older weapons in Afghan-owned possession, which had been left for decades of conflict.

Sources have told the BBC that the UN Security Symptoms Committee in Doha at the end of last year have admitted that at least half of this equipment is already “unauthorized”.

A committee person said it had checked with other sources that the location of half a million items was unknown.

In a report in FebruaryThe UN said al-Qaeda's branches, including Techrek-E-Taliban Pakistan, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Islamic East Turkestan movement and the Ansarula movement in Yemen, had access to weapons or buying on the black market.

The BBC put this on Hamdullah Fitrat, a deputy speaker of the Taliban government, who told the BBC that it accepts the protection and storage of weapons very seriously.

“All light and heavy weapons are securely stored. We strongly reject the allegations of smuggling or loss,” he said.

Of 2023 delayed He said the Taliban allowed local commanders to keep 20% of the seized US weapons and that the black market was thriving as a result. These commanders are related to the Taliban, but often have an autonomy in their regions.

The UN noted that “weapons gifts are widely practiced between local commanders and fighters to consolidate power. The black market remains a rich source of weapons for the Taliban.”

A former journalist in the city of Kandahar told the BBC that the open weapons market existed there a year after the Taliban was swallowed, but since then it has gone underground through the WhatsApp Message Service. Wealthy persons and local commanders trade new and used US weapons and equipment – the most weapons left by US -backed forces.

The number of weapons recorded by the American body, loaded with the supervision of Afghanistan reconstruction projects known as Sigar, is more than quoted by our sources, but In a 2022 report He admitted that he was unable to obtain accurate information.

The reason for this was that over the years the equipment has been funded and delivered by various US departments and organizations.

Sigar added that there was a “shortage and problems with the DOD processes (the Ministry of Defense) to track equipment in Afghanistan” for more than a decade.

He also criticized the State Department, adding: “The state has provided us limited, inaccurate and untimely information about the equipment and the means it has left behind.” The department denied it.

This is a very political issue and US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that he will restore weapons from Afghanistan. He said $ 85 billion (£ 66 billion) was left there.

“Afghanistan is one of the largest sellers of military equipment in the world. Do you know why? They sell the equipment we have left,” Trump said during his first meeting of the new administration.

“I want to look at this. If we have to pay them, that's good, but we want our military equipment back.”

The figure of the president is contested because the money spent in Afghanistan also funded training and salaries. Also, Afghanistan does not participate in the International Institute for Stockholm Peace Study Top 25 largest exporters of basic weapons Last year.

In response to Trump's comments Zabihula Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban, told Afghan state television: “We seized these weapons from the previous administration and will use them to protect the country and counteract any threats.”

The Taliban regularly flaunt the US weapons, including the Bagram Air Base, which serves as a major base from the US-NATO, and framed them as symbols of victory and legitimacy.

After withdrawing in 2021, the Pentagon claims that US equipment left in Afghanistan is a disabled, but since then the Taliban has built capable military using weapons of the United States and gained superior to rivalry groups, such as the National Resistance Front.

A source from the former Afghan government has told the BBC that “hundreds” unused Humvees, resistant to Mina's Mine Protected vehicles (MRAPS) and Black Hawk helicopters remain in Kandahar warehouses.

The Taliban has shown some of this captured equipment in propaganda videos, but their ability to operate and maintain advanced machines, such as Black Hawk helicopters, is limited due to lack of trained staff and technical expertise. Much of this sophisticated equipment remains unoperative.

However, the Taliban managed to use more equipment, such as Humvees and small weapons, in their operations.

While Donald Trump seems to be determined to restore US weapons from Afghanistan, former Sigar leader, John Sopko, says such experience would be pointless.

At a recent event, organized by the Afghan Institute for Strategic Research, he said “the costs will exceed its actual value.”

Whether Trump will take any action remains to be seen, but in the meantime concerns about the spread of weapons in the region and access from belligerent groups remain unresolved.