Taliban members FILE IMAGE: Parwiz/Reuters
Taliban fighters continue to uncover weapons caches left behind by Afghan resistance forces in the northeastern province of Panjshir.
On September 17, Afghan activists released a video showing Taliban fighters checking out dozens of Soviet-made V-600 anti-aircraft missiles which were left behind by the resistance in Panjshir. The missiles are the main armament of the S-125 Neva air-defense system.
The missiles are most likely nonoperational. However, they still pose a security risk as their solid fuel and warheads can be used to manufacture explosive devices.
Dumped engines (from air crafts or ballistic missiles) in central #Panjshir #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/lTAFjzL6Uk
— Abu Drexy Khorasani (Drexy Baba) (@RisboLensky) September 17, 2021
On September 18, several photos showing newly discovered weapons and ammunition caches in Panjshir surfaced online.
One of the caches included dozens of Soviet-made 9K114 Shturm anti-tank guided missiles, which appeared to be operational. These missiles can be used to arm Afghan Mi-24V\35 attack helicopters.
#Taliban captured a large quantity of AT-6 anti-tank missiles in #Panjshir Valley of #Afghanistan. They were once belonged to the #NorthernAlliance in 1990s. Northern Alliance was using them on its Mi-35 attack helicopters against main battle tanks and APCs of Taliban in 1990s. pic.twitter.com/S9t5st37mA
— Babak Taghvaee – Μπάπακ Τακβαίε – بابک تقوایی (@BabakTaghvaee) September 18, 2021
Taliban appears to have found another large depot of weapons and ammo in Panjshir. #Afghanistan
3/3 pic.twitter.com/9S6F0iJygF
— FJ (@Natsecjeff) September 18, 2021
Panjshir forces obtained the V-600 and 9K114 missiles as well as other Soviet-made weapons in the years following the fall of the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
Earlier this week, a video revealed that Taliban fighters had uncovered dozens of Soviet-made 9K72 Elbrus short-range ballistic missile and 9K52 Luna-M short-rang artillery rockets in Panjshir. More missiles and rockets were found recently.
Transport containers were found on separate location #Panjshir #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/hMW9ZkRyEW
— Abu Drexy Khorasani (Drexy Baba) (@RisboLensky) September 17, 2021
The Taliban took over Panjshir after defeating resistance forces on September 6. The whereabouts of resistance leader Ahmed Massoud Jr. remain unknown. Afghan sources claim that he is still fighting in Panjshir.
It remains unclear why these missiles and weapons were not destroyed by US and NATO forces after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
