Taliban fighters kitted out with American equipment have released a video apparently mocking retreating US forces.
Tweets showed film of the returning forces in a Kabul mosque brandishing US-made M-4 rifles, night vision goggles and wearing bulletproof vests.
It's part of an estimated $28 billion in weaponry handed over to Afghan forces between 2002 and 2017, much of which is now in the hands of the Taliban.
The insurgents brushed aside Afghan government forces, which earned them a bounty of billions of dollars worth of US weapons left behind by fleeing soldiers, according to businessinsider.com
One official told Reuters an estimated 2,000 armoured vehicles, including Humvees, and up to 40 aircraft, including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters and ScanEagle military drones, were bagged by Taliban forces.
Khalil Haqqani, a senior member of Taliban splinter group the Haqqani network, was photographed in Kabul preaching to a packed mosque while holding a US-made M-4 rifle.
The designated terrorist with a $5 million bounty on his head appears to be flanked by armed guards also equipped with US military gear.
The video, with a musical soundtrack, was aired on propaganda channels affiliated with the insurgents and said the group had deployed an elite unit called "Badri 313" to guard locations in Kabul.
While the group are unlikely to be able to operate the aircraft, the seizures will serve as a valuable a propaganda tool.
Elias Yousif, deputy director of the Centre for International Policy's Security Assistance Monitor, told The Hill: "When an armed group gets their hands on American-made weaponry, it's sort of a status symbol. It's a psychological win."
According to reports on Afghan social media, the troops were deployed for security after the Taliban takeover. Badri 313 is apparently named after the Battle of Badr written about in the Qur'an which took place 1,400 years ago. It is said the Prophet Mohammed successfully defeated an enemy force with just 313 men.
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