RandomGuy
07-25-2017, 12:30 PM
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN)The Taliban have received improved weaponry in Afghanistan that appears to have been supplied by the Russian government, according to exclusive videos obtained by CNN, adding weight to accusations by Afghan and American officials that Moscow is arming their one-time foe in the war-torn country.
US generals first suggested they were concerned the Russian government was seeking to arm the Afghan insurgents back in April, but images from the battlefield here corroborating these claims have been hard to come by.
These two videos show sniper rifles, Kalashnikov variants and heavy machine guns that weapons experts say are stripped of any means of identifying their origin.
Two separate sets of Taliban, one in the north and another in the west, claim to be in possession of the weapons, which they say were originally supplied by Russian government sources. One splinter group of Taliban near Herat say they obtained the guns after defeating a mainstream rival group of Taliban. Another group say they got the weapons for free across the border with Tajikistan and that they were provided by "the Russians."
...
"The Russians have said that they maintain contact with the Taliban, we have lots of other reports from other people they are arming the Taliban ... there is no smoke without fire," Afghan government spokesman Sediq Sediqi said. "That's why our intelligence agencies are up to the job to find out what level of support that is to the Taliban."
Another Afghan official said they were sure that trade was happening between Russia and the Taliban.
Russia's Foreign Ministry declined to comment for this article but has previously called claims they are arming the Taliban "utterly false" and said they were made to cover up for the United States' failure in Afghanistan. The Russians talk to the Taliban purely to promote peace talks, they said.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/asia/taliban-weapons-afghanistan/
US generals first suggested they were concerned the Russian government was seeking to arm the Afghan insurgents back in April, but images from the battlefield here corroborating these claims have been hard to come by.
These two videos show sniper rifles, Kalashnikov variants and heavy machine guns that weapons experts say are stripped of any means of identifying their origin.
Two separate sets of Taliban, one in the north and another in the west, claim to be in possession of the weapons, which they say were originally supplied by Russian government sources. One splinter group of Taliban near Herat say they obtained the guns after defeating a mainstream rival group of Taliban. Another group say they got the weapons for free across the border with Tajikistan and that they were provided by "the Russians."
...
"The Russians have said that they maintain contact with the Taliban, we have lots of other reports from other people they are arming the Taliban ... there is no smoke without fire," Afghan government spokesman Sediq Sediqi said. "That's why our intelligence agencies are up to the job to find out what level of support that is to the Taliban."
Another Afghan official said they were sure that trade was happening between Russia and the Taliban.
Russia's Foreign Ministry declined to comment for this article but has previously called claims they are arming the Taliban "utterly false" and said they were made to cover up for the United States' failure in Afghanistan. The Russians talk to the Taliban purely to promote peace talks, they said.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/asia/taliban-weapons-afghanistan/