Half a million units of American weapons, which the Taliban seized after the withdrawal of international coalition forces from Afghanistan, have been lost, sold, or smuggled to other groups, BBC’s Russian Service reports, citing its sources..  The UN believes that some of this weaponry has ended up in the hands of al-Qaeda.

According to a former Afghan official who spoke anonymously to the BBC, the Taliban obtained firearms such as M4 and M16 rifles, older models, as well as military equipment.

Most of this was originally provided to the previous Afghan government.  As the Taliban advanced toward Kabul in 2021, many Afghan soldiers surrendered or fled, abandoning their weapons and vehicles.  Other equipment was left behind by U.S. forces.

At the end of last year, during a UN Security Council Sanctions Committee meeting in Doha, Taliban representatives stated that half of this weaponry had disappeared without a trace, BBC sources reported.

A Committee representative said the UN had cross-checked this information with other sources, and the whereabouts of half a million weapons are indeed unknown.

According to a UN report published in February, groups affiliated with al-Qaeda — including Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (banned in Russia), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (recognized as a terrorist organization in many countries, including Russia),  the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, and Yemen’s Ansarullah — have gained access to weapons seized by the Taliban or purchased them on the black market.

The UN’s 2023 report states that the Taliban leadership allowed field commanders to retain 20% of the confiscated American weapons, which has led to a thriving black market. These commanders are affiliated with the Taliban but often operate with a degree of autonomy in their regions.

The UN noted that “gifting of weapons is widely practiced among field commanders and their fighters to consolidate power. The black market remains a rich source of weapons for the Taliban.”

A former journalist in Kandahar told the BBC that an open weapons market existed in the city for a year after the Taliban took power, but it has since moved underground and now operates through WhatsApp.

Wealthy individuals and field commanders trade in both new and used American weapons and equipment.

The number of weapons registered by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is lower than the figure cited by sources, but SIGAR’s 2022 report acknowledged its inability to obtain accurate data.

Over the years of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, military equipment was financed and supplied by various U.S. departments and organizations.

SIGAR also noted that for more than a decade, the Pentagon failed to implement effective mechanisms for tracking weapons in Afghanistan.

The watchdog also criticized the State Department, stating: “The State Department provided us with limited, inaccurate, and untimely information about the equipment left behind by Americans.” The State Department denies this.

This has become a political issue and President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed he would retrieve the weapons from Afghanistan. According to him, modern weapons worth $85 billion were left behind.

However, Trump’s figures are disputed, as U.S. spending in Afghanistan also covered training and salaries. Moreover, Afghanistan did not appear in the top 25 global exporters of major weapons, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's recent report.

In response to Trump’s comments, Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban government, told Afghan state television: “We seized this weaponry from the previous administration and will use it to defend the country and repel any threats.”

The Taliban regularly showcase American weapons, including at the Bagram airfield — once the main base for U.S. and NATO forces.  They display them as trophies — symbols of their victory and legitimacy.

After the international coalition forces withdrew in 2021, the Pentagon stated that the American equipment left behind in Afghanistan had been disabled and was unusable.

However, since then, the Taliban have formed a combat-ready army, partly using American weapons, and have gained superiority over rival groups such as the National Resistance Front and the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS-K), a regional branch of ISIS.

A source from the former Afghan government told the BBC that hundreds of unused Humvee all-terrain vehicles, MRAP armored vehicles, and Black Hawk helicopters remain stored in warehouses in Kandahar.

However, the Taliban are effectively using simpler equipment like pickup trucks and armored personnel carriers in their operations.