ON THE WARPATH
Taliban seizes 700 US military vehicles & artillery from surrendering Afghan troops as country faces ‘total collapse’
RESURGENT Taliban forces have seized hundreds of trucks, armoured vehicles and artillery from Afghan security forces — which had been left by departing American forces.
An investigation of imagery posted on social media concludes that in the month of June alone the militants captured 700 vehicles which now will be used in their bid to regain power after being toppled by the America's 2001 invasion.
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The shocking seizure comes as defence forces of the US-backed Afghan government in some districts are evaporating in the face of Taliban pressure.
It mirrors the seizure of military hardware of the US-backed Iraqi government by ISIS in the mid 2010s, which enabled it to take over vast tracks of the country and form its so-called caliphate.
The tally comes from an open-source investigative report published at the by Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans.
The continuously updated tally has catalogued hundreds of photos posted online by the Taliban showing captured Afghan military equipment
As of the evening of June 30, the study found evidence of 715 light vehicles falling into Taliban hands.
Many more are believed lost because they have been uncounted as they were not recorded in photos or videos.
Pictures show Taliban fighters with humvees, trucks, artillery guns and assault rifles as they continue to surge.
It comes as the military force said it "welcomes and supports" the decision by the US and NATO to withdraw.
The last US forces today left Afghanistan's Bagram airfield after 20 years in the war-torn region.
Officials said the HQ was the epicenter of the US war against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
The withdrawal comes amid fears that American troops risk leaving behind a nation on the verge of disaster.
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General Sir Richard Barrons, a former commander joint forces command, told that Afghanistanis at "grave risk of collapse".
He said: "We might argue that much more money, many more soldiers and a lot more time could have helped Afghanistan settle into a peaceful, modernising state — but that is academic: we are walking away from fighting for it."
Meanwhile, US General Scott Miller has warned the country is on the verge of "civil war" as Taliban militants have seized more than one third of Afghanistan.
"That should be a concern to the world," said General Miller.
And it is feared the nation could become a new haven for terrorist forces wanting to strike out against the West, with The Sun Online revealing concerns new training camps could be operational by September.
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Professor Anthony Glees, from the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham, said the Taliban are now "back with a vengeance".
But the most immediate impacts may be on the people of Afghanistan.
They face being plunged back beneath the rule of a brutal regime who enforce strict versions of Islamic law and issue punishments such as beheading and torture.
Vile atrocities committed by the terror groups are well documented - in particular by ISIS who may seek to establish vile rule over parts of Afghanistan like they did in Iraq and Syria.
Punishments handed out by the terror groups include floggings, beheadings, hangings, and crucifixions.
And meanwhile Robert Clark, from the national security think tank Henry Jackson Society, warned other terror groups such as ISIS will look to stake their claim to Afghanistan.
He said while the Taliban may attempt to stick to peace terms agreed with the US - promising the nation will not be a haven for terrorists - other jihadi groups do not have to stick to such pledges.
Mr Clark told The Sun Online: "Whether [the Taliban] will stick to that is another question but they will be likely to do so to avoid US troops returning but it doesn’t mean they can control other terror groups, such as ISIS, who will look to take advantage and will look to recruit and train there.
"They hold no such agreement. It could become a terror battleground."
The Taliban has seized control of a third of the country, most of that territory within the last two weeks, putting them within striking distance of major cities such as Herat and Kabul, where 95% of NATO were previously based.
A recent US intelligence report warned they could take the capital within six months with experts fearing the government could be overthrown by the end of the year.
The terror group is reportedly already launching violent attacks on Kabul, a city well known for opposing Taliban rule after 55 were killed in a car bombing at a school back in May.
Afghan forces are said to be striking deals with Taliban soldiers in exchange for immunity, abandoning check points and handing over weapons to avoid bloodshed, a move that has allowed them to move quickly.
Fighting has exhausted Afghan forces, seeing troops complain they are outnumbered, outgunned, under-paid and weary from 20 years of fighting.
20 years in Afghanistan - what happened?
US forces have begun a full withdrawal from Afghanistan under the orders of US President Joe Biden after spending 20 years fighting to stablise the war-torn nation.
Some 456 British soldiers and 2,420 Americans - along with hundreds of other coalition troops - died during the war which was sparked by the September 11 attacks.
And the civilian casualties are estimated to have been almost 50,000.
Codenamed Operation Enduring Freedom, the US led an invasion off Afghanistan to oust the Taliban after al-Qaeda flew planes into the World Trade Centre and other US buildings in 2001.
The mission was to oust the Taliban, who were said to be harbouring terrorists and providing them a safe haven - including Osama bin Laden.
What followed was nearly 20 years of grinding conflict as the US, its allies, and the Afghan security forces staged a grinding campaign to attempt to rebuild the country and beat back the Taliban.
The Taliban had ruled most of Afghanistan following the Afghan Civil War in the 90s - sparked by the withdrawal of the Soviet Union.
Western nations had actually supported the Taliban in the 80s as the ran an insurgency against the Soviet backed regime of Mohammad Najibullah.
However, after seizing power in 1996 - the Taliban brutally ruled Afghanistan and offered a safe haven to terrorist killers like Osama.
As the US war rolled on into the 2010s, Bin Laden was killed in May, 2011, in a US special forces raid in Abbotabad, Pakistan.
And since then there has been a slow withdrawal, with British troops officially ending combat operations in October 2014.
February 2020 saw a peace deal signed between the US and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, which agreed to a withdrawal - whoever the Afghan government criticised it as being done behind "closed doors".
Taliban forces have since continued their operations and have been gaining ground - and the US continues to pull back its troops.
The war is seen as defeating the Taliban and improving the lives of the Afghan people who were once living under strict Islamic law and who now have free elections.
However, for some it is unfinished job which was mishandled - and that may 20 years on simply see a return to the dominance of the Taliban as they did pre-9/11.
Mr Clark, who served in the British army for nine years, told The Sun Online is unsurprising the Afghan forces are rolling over - with local commanders having to strike deals with the Taliban.
And while these deals could help quell some bloodshed, it won't stop their ruthless rise - with the potential fall of Kabul sparking a "domino effect".
“By the end of the year is it most likely that the Government will have fallen or be fighting to survive," he said.
Professor Glees meanwhile told The Sun Online there will "definitely" be a fresh terror threat posed by a new Taliban regime - with the US withdrawal making them believe the West is "weak".
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"The more the Taliban are left to their own devices, the more they can hone their forces and their fellow Islamist 'students' in the West," he said.
Taliban forces were first overthrown in 2001 following a US invasion - but since US President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw, the group has now gone on to seize one third of Afghanistan.
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And further offensives are expected throughout the summer with warnings the jihadi forces could take the capital of Kabul within six months.
It is being described by concerned US intelligence officials as "the greatest jihadist victory since the Soviets quit in 1989".
Afghan president says he is ready for talks with the Taliban as violence escalates
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