Taliban shows off weapons, military hardware seized from Afghan forces

The Taliban showed off weapons and military hardware it says were seized from Afghan forces, as the group regains ground in Afghanistan’s northern districts amid a U.S. troop withdrawal from the country.

Sky News, which was granted access to the Sultan Khil military base in the Wardak province near Kabul, reported that a Taliban commander said the group had taken 70 sniper rifles, 900 guns and 65 vehicles, including Humvees.

The Taliban also showed off shipping containers that were consisted of satellite phones, grenades, mortars, bullets and a variety of other ammunition.

A number of the weapons were labeled “Property of USA Government,” according to Sky News. They were reportedly supplied to the Afghan army by the U.S. to fight the Taliban.

President Biden earlier this year set a Sept. 11 deadline for withdrawing all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, bringing an end to a conflict that started nearly two decades ago following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. On Tuesday, the Pentagon said the troop withdrawal was more than 90 percent complete.

Media access to the Taliban’s base comes as the militants have taken a large number of districts. The group has reportedly captured 120 districts since May 1, according to an ongoing assessment by the Long War Journal, cited by NBC News.

The Associated Press reported on Sunday that the Taliban now controls about a third of the 421 districts and district centers in Afghanistan.

More than 1,000 members of Afghanistan’s security forces have fled to Tajikistan in response to the advances.

The Sky News reporters were also taken to a mosque, where a stock of recently seized weapons were laid out for viewing, such as AK47s and boxes of bullets, in addition to printers, computers and other office equipment from the base.