🔗 Share this article Taliban Used Discarded British Equipment to Find Afghans That Served Alongside Allied Troops, Inquiry Is Told An informant has told a parliamentary probe that the UK left behind classified technology enabling the Taliban to identify local individuals who collaborated with international military. Information Leak Puts Thousands in Danger Person A, known as Person A, explained that individuals impacted by the information breach were advised to change residences and switch their mobile numbers to protect themselves from the ruling authorities. Members of Parliament are looking into the Conservative government's management of a catastrophic leak of personal details concerning almost nineteen thousand individuals who had requested to relocate to Britain to avoid militant rule. Data Disclosure Was Discovered An electronic document containing confidential details, including identities, phone numbers and in some cases family information, was inadvertently disclosed by an official stationed at UK special forces headquarters in early 2022. The leak was discovered only in August 2023, when details of several individuals who had requested to move to the UK appeared on social media. Militant Technology It appears there is a false assumption that militant forces do not have similar capabilities that allied forces use,” she told lawmakers. All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they possess it. Once they acquire a contact number, they can trace your precise location. That's precisely what specialized teams accomplished.” Under inquiry about if militant forces owned necessary encryption, the whistleblower confirmed: “They have complete capability.” Aftermath of the Information Leak Preliminary research provided to the committee indicated that approximately fifty kin and co-workers of people concerned by the incident had been executed. A gag order about the incident was put in force in last year and blocked any information concerning it from media reporting until mid-2025. Safety Measures Because she was restricted, the source and the volunteer organization she collaborated with informed individuals at risk they were assisting that they had “concerns that mobile communications had been compromised”. “Our suggestion was that they moved where feasible and altered their mobile numbers. These represented the primary information that, should militant forces acquired such data, would result in identification and capture,” Person A explained. Contested Findings Person A contested that an official review performed by an ex-government employee had been wrong to state that the possession of the records by militant forces was “minimally impact an individual's existing exposure”. “The thing to remember is that affected people are not standing up to the authorities; they live secretly. All concerns relate to their previous employment.” She detailed horrific treatment endured by at-risk Afghans, involving electrocution, simulated drowning, and physical abuse. “We have had toddlers who have had bones crushed to try to get households to say where someone is,” Person A stated.