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US left behind $7 billion of military gear after troops withdrew: Pentagon
A new Pentagon report has revealed that the US left $7 billion of military gear – including 78 aircraft, 12,000 Humvees and thousands of air-to-ground weapons – in Afghanistan after President Joe Biden’s chaotic 2021 withdrawal.
The US handed the equipment to the previous Afghan government over the course of 16 years, CNN reported.
According to the report, seen by CNN, the US Defense Department has no plans to return to Afghanistan to “retrieve or destroy” the equipment.
The US gave a total of $18.6 billion of equipment to the former Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) from 2005 to August 2021, according to the report. Of that total, equipment worth $7.12 billion remained in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal was completed on August 30, 2021.
It included aircraft, air-to-ground munitions, military vehicles, weapons, communications equipment and other materials, according to the DoD report.
Quoting the report, which was submitted to Congress, CNN stated: “Much of the remaining equipment” left in Afghanistan requires “specialized maintenance that DoD contractors previously provided” to Afghan forces “in the form of technical knowledge and support.”
The Department of Defense was required to submit a report to Congress “regarding the disposition of United States property, equipment and supplies provided to” Afghan forces that “were destroyed, taken out of” or “remain in Afghanistan.”
The report also says that five Mi-17 helicopters that had been in Afghanistan were officially transferred to Ukraine in 2022, though they were already in Ukraine for maintenance before the US left Afghanistan. The Department of Defense notified Congress of its intent to transfer the helicopters in January 2022, before Russia’s invasion of the country had begun, and Ukraine signed a letter of acceptance on March 11, 2022.
“These five helicopters were in Ukraine undergoing overhaul maintenance when the Afghan government collapsed, and have remained there since,” the report states.
Other materials previously procured for Afghanistan by the US but not sent to the country, has been given to Ukraine, including about 37,000 122mm howitzer rounds, the report states.
The US has also transferred ammunition, grenade cartridges, and thousands of high-explosive mortar rounds to Ukraine from material that was previously procured for Afghanistan, the report states.
According to the report, aircraft worth $923.3 million remained in Afghanistan after withdrawal.
The US left 78 aircraft procured for the government of Afghanistan at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul before the end of the withdrawal. These aircraft were demilitarized and rendered inoperable before the US military left, the report states.
A total of 9,524 air-to-ground munitions, valued at $6.54 million, remained in Afghanistan at the conclusion of the US military withdrawal.
Over 40,000 of the total 96,000 military vehicles the US gave to Afghan forces remained in Afghanistan at the time of the US withdrawal, including 12,000 military Humvees, the report states.
“The operational condition of the remaining vehicles” in Afghanistan is “unknown,” the report states.
More than 300,000 of the total 427,300 weapons the US gave to Afghan forces remained in Afghanistan and “nearly all” of the communications equipment that the US gave to Afghan forces, including base-station, mobile, man-portable and hand-held commercial and military radio systems, and associated transmitters and encryption devices also remained in Afghanistan at the time of the withdrawal, the report states.
“Nearly all” night vision, surveillance, “biometric and positioning equipment” totaling nearly 42,000 pieces of specialized equipment remained in the country, and “nearly all,” of the explosive ordinance disposal and demining equipment, including 17,500 “pieces of explosive detection, electronic countermeasure, disposal and personal protective equipment” also remained in Afghanistan, according to the report.
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Mansour: Unjustified bloodshed is forbidden, whether Afghan or Pakistani
At the same time, Mansour stressed that the situation should not escalate into indiscriminate bloodshed.
Abdul Latif Mansour, Afghanistan’s Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, says the Islamic Emirate considers the unjustified shedding of Afghan and Pakistani blood forbidden, as both sides are Muslims.
Mansour made the remarks at the inauguration of the Wakhan road in Badakhshan on Sunday, while responding to Pakistan’s recent attacks on Afghanistan.
He said some people become emotional over Pakistani bombings, but stressed that Afghanistan needs to become self-reliant enough to defend its citizens.
“We must build this system to the point where we become self-reliant and can defend every Afghan in such a way that we can neutralize the person causing harm in his own country,” Mansour said.
He acknowledged that the current system has not yet achieved full self-reliance, but said efforts are underway to strengthen Afghanistan’s ability to defend its people.
At the same time, Mansour stressed that the situation should not escalate into indiscriminate bloodshed.
“We consider the unjustified shedding of our own people’s blood forbidden, and we also consider the shedding of Pakistani blood forbidden because they are Muslims,” he said.
Pakistani military officials have repeatedly accused Afghanistan of allowing militant attacks on Pakistan to be planned or carried out from Afghan territory.
The Islamic Emirate has rejected the allegations, saying Afghanistan is not responsible for Pakistan’s security problems.
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Afghanistan inaugurates 121 km Wakhan road to China border
Mansour described the project as politically, strategically and economically important.
A 121-kilometer gravel road from the Sarhad-e Broghil in Wakhan district of Badakhshan to the Chinese border was officially opened today, Sunday, October 4.
Abdul Latif Mansour, Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, said at the inauguration ceremony that the road includes 66 culverts and four major bridges, while a total of 3,100 meters of retaining walls have been built along parts of the route.
According to Mansour, 365 million afghanis from the Islamic Emirate’s development budget were spent on the construction and graveling of the road.
Mansour described the project as politically, strategically and economically important.
Rahmatullah Najib, governor of Badakhshan, also said at the ceremony that security has been ensured across the province and that there are no security problems in any part of Badakhshan.
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India says drug kingpin linked to Afghan heroin, meth deported from Turkey
India says a fugitive drug-trafficking kingpin accused of smuggling heroin and methamphetamine from Afghanistan into India has been deported from Turkey and brought back to the country.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday that Navpreet Singh, also known as “Nav,” was deported from Turkey after Indian authorities tracked him down.
Shah said Singh had obtained Turkish citizenship using the fake identity “Navab Virk” and continued to smuggle heroin and methamphetamine from Afghanistan to India.
The 34-year-old, a native of Punjab, had been wanted in several narcotics cases and was on the run for more than two years. Indian authorities allege that he headed an international narcotics syndicate whose operations in India were managed by his cousin, Prabhdeep Singh.
Prabhdeep Singh, also known as “Harry,” was extradited from Azerbaijan to India in May in connection with a case involving the seizure of 358 kilograms of heroin in 2021.
India submitted its request for Navpreet Singh’s extradition to Turkish authorities in 2023-24, according to officials familiar with the case.
Shah described Singh’s deportation as a “historic milestone” and said the Indian government was committed to dismantling drug-trafficking networks.
The Indian Home Ministry says 288 fugitives from 36 countries have been brought back to India between 2019 and August 2026 as part of efforts to pursue wanted criminals abroad.
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