Taliban fighters seized U.S. military equipment as they conquered Afghanistan, including millions of dollars' worth of drones, according to photos released by the militant group.
Images taken by the Taliban's media studio last week show abandoned U.S. military vehicles captured by the Taliban, such as Humvees and armored MRAP personnel carriers. The fighters also secured several Boeing ScanEagle drones, unmanned aerial vehicles used for reconnaissance.
Counting the boxes, Taliban collected another five #ScanEagle drones in Herat, each costing around 4.000.000$.
Let’s see how much Iran or China pay the Taliban for them to investigate our western technology …#EpicFail #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/YlG8rwlXNe— Julian Röpcke (@JulianRoepcke) August 14, 2021
The photos indicate the Taliban seized at least six of the drones. Each drone system cost $3.2 million in 2006, according to the U.S. Air Force. In 2019 Boeing sold 34 of the drones to four Southeast Asian countries for $48 million, roughly $1.4 million for each drone.
The Taliban toppled the Afghan government on Sunday when it captured the capital city Kabul. The group's fighters have taken scores of American weapons and military equipment from fleeing Afghan security forces and abandoned U.S. military facilities.