Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Since a long time ago, Taliban identical to the Russian-made rifle, the Kalashnikov AK-47. But after the Taliban took control Afghanistan on Sunday (15/8), many of its members swapped their AK-47s for American rifles.
This scene is seen in a number of videos and photos uploaded on the Taliban’s social network. In the video and photos, the members can be seen carrying M4 and M16 machine guns that were left by Afghan government forces after being defeated.
A retired United States military, Grant Newsham, admitted that he was surprised to see this sight. According to him, US weapons are indeed more accurate and far-reaching than the AK-47. However, the ability of the AK-47 is actually not much different from the US-made rifles.
“Some weapons might only be useful if they want to intimidate rival drug dealers, but that’s about it. They’d be better off using the weapons they’re used to holding,” Newhsam told reporters. Reuters.
On the other hand, some observers consider the Taliban swapping their weapons only as a symbol of taking power from the US-backed Afghan forces.
The US has poured billions of dollars into arming Afghan troops for 20 years. However, the Taliban were able to seize all of them in just about three months.
In addition, US weapons are also expected to last longer because of its abundant and easy-to-obtain ammunition supply.
The 5.56 mm bullets used for these rifles are even available at specialty civilian gun shops in the US. Meanwhile, Russia itself is very difficult to penetrate the US arms market.
“I think now the Taliban allies will have no problem supplying ammunition for any infantry system,” another US Marine veteran told Reuters.
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