US forces see exit by end August; Taliban claim to capture 7 districts
Kabul
The Taliban has captured a staggering 700 trucks and Humvees from Afghan security forces as well as dozens of armored vehicles and artillery systems in June alone, according to an investigation report quoted by The Sun.
The publication said some images posted on social media were investigated . And that in turn implies huge volumes of military equipment donated or sold to Afghanistan to help it fight the Taliban may instead continue pouring into that very group’s hands.
The tally comes from an open-source investigative report published at the Oryx blog by Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans.
The blog was earlier distinguished for its detailed open-source investigation on equipment losses in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The continuously updated tally has catalogued hundreds of photos posted online by the Taliban showing captured Afghan military equipment.
According to the blog, as of the evening of June 30, the study found evidence of 715 light vehicles falling into Taliban hands, with another 65 destroyed.
Foreign media reports said the Taliban seized equipment and ammunition left behind by US forces.
According to media reports, a video released by the Taliban also claimed that they had seized several weapons from Afghan forces.
Meanwhile, officials said Saturday that hundreds of Taliban fighters were killed in fierce battles with government forces across several provinces of Afghanistan, as Washington announced it would finish withdrawing its troops from the country by the end of August.
Washington’s announcement came after all US and NATO troops vacated their main Bagram Air Base, from where the coalition forces led operations for two decades against the Taliban and their Al-Qaeda allies.
Over the past 24 hours, more than 300 Taliban fighters were killed in fighting with government forces, the Ministry of Defence said Saturday.—Agencies
