https://arab.news/rzyp8
- ‘Serious questions should be asked of Washington’s intelligence agencies,’ defense analyst tells Arab News
- ‘The loss of these vehicles is another embarrassment for the US, and could be damaging’
LONDON: A convoy of US military vehicles has been filmed being directed toward Tehran after the Taliban handed it over to Iranian authorities.
“The loss of these vehicles is another embarrassment for the US, and could be damaging in the future if these vehicles are used to either extract valuable technical information or to impersonate US forces in Iraq,” Jonathon Kitson, a writer on defense and security issues, told Arab News.
“Serious questions should be asked of Washington’s intelligence agencies, who wrongly believed this scenario wouldn’t happen.”
The propaganda blow comes after the Taliban were seen parading American kit and equipment in Kabul after US forces left Afghanistan’s capital on Aug. 31, the deadline set for US-led forces to leave the country under the Doha peace agreement between Washington and the militant group.
The convoy included humvees — the bread and butter of American military manoeuvrability — and heavily armored mine-resistant vehicles.
A social media channel that posted the clip claimed that the Iranians had also recovered some US tanks.
Over 70,000 vehicles were provided to Afghan security forces before their defeat to the Taliban.
Washington says Iran, its main rival in the Middle East, supported the Taliban’s sudden rise to power by training them in military doctrine and the use of specialist equipment.