Taliban seize US weapons including aircraft, missiles

Afghanistans military has laid down its weapons, and the Taliban have wasted little time in collecting them, raising concerns about how easily troves of US-made arms, military aircraft and armoured vehicles have fallen into enemy hands and the new capabilities they bring.

Scores of videos have emerged of Taliban fighters rejoicing near abandoned American helicopters, carrying US-supplied M24 sniper rifles and M18 assault weapons, stacking other small arms and materiel in unending piles and driving Humvees and other US-made military trucks.

The Taliban have seized airplanes, tanks and artillery from Afghan outposts and from evacuating US personnel, revealing one of the heavier costs of a troop withdrawal amid a collapse of Afghanistan’s government and army.

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