Afghan journalist on man seen hanging from US helicopter
A journalist from Afghanistan has come up with a purported clarification on the viral video showing a US-made Black Hawk helicopter flying over Afghanistan's Kandahar province, with a person hanging below from a rope. An Afghan pilot was reportedly flying the chopper, and a Taliban member was trying to install the group's flag, the journalist, Bilal Sarwary, has claimed.
Taking to Twitter, the journalist said, "Afghan pilot flying this is someone I have known over the years. He was trained in the US and UAE, he confirmed to me that he flew the Blackhawk helicopter. Taliban fighter seen here was trying to install Taliban flag from air but it didn't work in the end."
The viral video, showed the Taliban flying a US-left military helicopter over Kandahar with the 'body' of a person hanging mid-air.
Taliban have more Black Hawk choppers than 85 per cent countries
Meanwhile, US Republican Congressman Jim Banks has revealed that the Taliban now have more Black Hawk helicopters than 85 per cent of the countries in the world, the Daily Mail reported. Banks, who served in Afghanistan as an officer in charge of supplying weapons, said, "Due to the negligence of this administration, the Taliban now have access to $85 billion worth of military equipment."
The militant group's metamorphosis from rag-tag guerrilla force to a highly professional, impressively equipped army has been at the expense of Western taxpayers, the report said.
The UK and the US have picked up the tab not only for the expensive hardware but also the training budget -- as the Taliban's ranks have been swollen by defectors from the Afghan National Security Forces.
The irony is that the Taliban's newfound arsenal was supposed to prevent Afghanistan from falling into Taliban hands, it added.
The group appears to have helped themselves to the state-of-the-art MBITR-2 (Multi-band Intrateam Radios) favoured by US Green Berets but denied to most conventional UK personnel. They were issued to Afghan government forces.
What's more, their weapons appear immaculately clean and well maintained, their uniforms looked washed and ironed and they carry their weapons as British soldiers are taught to carry theirs.
The transformation in the group's appearance and capability could scarcely be more vivid or disturbing, the report said.
Sandals and shalwar kameez have been replaced by combat boots and tailored camouflage uniforms.
Ancient AK47s are nowhere to be seen. Instead, today's Taliban carry US Green Beret-issue M4 carbines with telescoping stocks.
The Taliban of 15 years ago were seldom if ever seen wearing helmets. But today their headwear is more expensive and more advanced than that worn by most British troops, it added.
How US troops pulled out from Afghanistan
The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America’s longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unfulfilled promises and a frantic final exit that cost the lives of more than 180 Afghans and 13 US service members, some barely older than the war.
Hours ahead of President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline for shutting down a final airlift, and thus ending the US war, Air Force transport planes carried a remaining contingent of troops from Kabul airport.
Thousands of troops had spent a harrowing two weeks protecting the airlift of tens of thousands of Afghans, Americans and others seeking to escape a country once again ruled by Taliban militants.
In announcing the completion of the evacuation and war effort. Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, said the last planes took off from Kabul airport at 3:29 p.m. Washington time, or one minute before midnight in Kabul. He said a number of American citizens, likely numbering in “the very low hundreds,” were left behind, and that he believes they will still be able to leave the country.
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