The Taliban have captured U.S. military equipment originally supplied to Afghan security forces, but the U.S. doesn’t know exactly how much.
Photos published by the Associated Press and circulated on social media show militant fighters touting M4 and M16 rifles, M24 sniper rifle systems, and M2 .50 caliber machine guns. Other footage showed night vision goggles, radios, and magazine pouches apparently seized from Afghan outposts during the Taliban offensive, which also saw militants seize military vehicles like Humvees and MRAPs.
The Taliban now possess more UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters than 165 other countries in the world. While some have said that they are unsustainable due to a lack of training, and logistics required to fly them, that expertise and access to black market parts could be supplied by Iran.
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