The US troops left their equipment behind when they withdrew from Afghanistan. Numerous vehicles and helicopters. And that’s exactly how the Taliban celebrated a victory parade.
A long line of green Humvee all-terrain vehicles waited on Wednesday on a freeway outside the city of Kandahar, the birthplace of the Islamist movement, an AFP reporter reported. Many of the US-made vehicles had the white and black Taliban flag mounted on their antennas.
Videos broadcast by the Taliban on the Internet showed a helicopter over the prepared parade, pulling a militia banner behind it. Numerous Islamist fighters cheered the helicopter.
In the past few days, at least one US military Black Hawk helicopter had been sighted over Kandahar. Since the Taliban did not yet have qualified pilots, it is assumed that someone from the former Afghan army controlled the device.
Equipment allegedly rendered unusable
The US military does not find the fact that the Taliban is now using their equipment a problem. According to the Pentagon, military equipment at Kabul Airport had been rendered unusable before leaving the country.
“The only thing we have left functional are a few fire engines and a few forklifts, so that the airport can continue to operate in the future,” said Defense Department spokesman John Kirby, CNN. Aircraft and vehicles could no longer be used. Apparently some vehicles have been forgotten, as the Taliban demonstrate with their victory parade. (AFP / SDA)