The Taliban received weapons and military equipment as a result of the retreat of the Afghan government forces.
US officials fear that captured Taliban weapons could be used against civilians, terrorists (such as the Islamic State) could seize them, and even potentially be handed over to United States adversaries such as Russia and China.
One of the interlocutors told Reuters that the Taliban, according to intelligence, took control of more than 2 thousand armored personnel carriers (including American Humvees) and up to 40 aircraft, including UH-60 Black Hawks multi-purpose helicopters and ScanEagle combat drones.
The Taliban, in particular, did not get the planes of the Afghan army, which were in service in the United States (they will remain there), as well as 40-50 units of aircraft, the pilots of which crossed the border with Uzbekistan in search of refuge.
The agency’s source did not rule out that the US army could launch airstrikes on the largest military equipment inherited by the Taliban (for example, helicopters), but this could affect the evacuation of people from Afghanistan by the US military.
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States and the Taliban’s refusal to extradite the leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, Osama bin Laden, American troops were sent to Afghanistan. The Taliban government was overthrown and the Taliban began fighting against the government.
In February 2020, representatives of the United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement, which provides for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan within 18 months after its signing.
The security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated amid the withdrawal of US troops, which started in April 2021 year. By August 15, the Taliban had taken control of virtually the entire country. including the capital Kabul… Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled abroad on the same day.
Against the backdrop of the Taliban offensive, foreign states began to evacuate their citizens. The process was paralyzed by chaos at the Kabul airport on August 16, and the airport canceled all commercial flights… 17 august the evacuation process resumed, although French Defense Minister Florence Parley said Taliban checkpoints were making it difficult to access the airport.
According to media reports, the real number of Afghan soldiers who opposed the Taliban was six times less than the official one – 50 thousand people instead of 300 thousand.
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