According to individuals who spoke anonymously to the news, a startling half a million firearms that were formerly part of the enormous arsenal that the Taliban seized when they retook control of Afghanistan in 2021 are now being lost, sold, or smuggled to extremist groups.
Some of these US-funded weapons may have even ended up in the hands of Al-Qaeda affiliates, according to the disturbing finding, which the UN has confirmed.
According to a former Afghan official who spoke to the news on condition of anonymity, the Taliban took over almost a million guns and pieces of military hardware when they overran Afghanistan in 2021. The majority of these items had been provided and financed by the United States.
