Taliban's deadly arsenal: US left behind billions of dollars worth arms, equipments [details inside]

The United States ended a 20-year-long battle by withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, which led to Taliban's insurgence and toppling Ashraf Ghani-led government. This led to horrifying aftermath - chaos, deaths, terror everywhere. While many countries, including the US, carried out evacuations in scale, many lives were lost as terrorists attacked innocent civilians, children and the army. Amidst the rushed evacuation, the United States, despite migrating its planes, heavy weapons and other equipment, a lot has been left behind that now fall in the hands of Taliban. According to reports, the US had provided Afghan defence forces with $28 billion worth of arms and equipment.

National security adviser, Jake Sullivan had revealed last week that "We don't have a complete picture, obviously, of where every article of defence materials has gone, but certainly, a fair amount of it has fallen into the hands of the Taliban." Well, now there's a picture of just how much of US arsenal has fallen in the hands of Taliban.

Taliban's new arsenal - courtesy US

Shocking photos and videos of Taliban members donning heavy gear and arsenal, carrying US assault rifles and more have emerged online, showing a glimpse of a great deal of US defence material in the hands of Islamist group.

According to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), Taliban's new arsenal includes:

1. Mi-17 chopper: 33
2. UH-60 Blackhawk: 33
3. MDS530 chopper: 43
4. C-130 aircraft: 4
5. Super Tucano aircraft: 23
6. Cessna 208: 28
7. Cessna AC-208 strike aircraft: 10
8. Machine guns: 64,363
9. Assault rifles: 358,530
10. Pistols: 126,295
11. Artillery pieces: 176
12. Humvees: 22,174
13. Trucks: 8,000
14. Mine-proof vehicles (MRAPs): 155
15. M1117 armoured security vehicle: 634
16. Armoured personnel carriers (M113): 169
17. Pick-up trucks and SUVs: 42,000
18. Night vision goggles: 16,035
19. Radios: 162,043

According to the report, the main Afghan army garrisons and weapons were dumped at Mazar-i-Sharif, Kunduz, Herat, Kabul, Lashkar Gah, Kandahar and Gardez. While the thought of Taliban possessing such dangerous weapons and equipment is alarming, Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, stressed that the equipment will be of no use to them in combat, instead, they will be displayed as trophies. The ground reality still remains a concern.