What will be left behind?

Norwegian defense equipment may end up in the hands of the Taliban

Photo: newsonline / Flickr
With the fall of Afghanistan, the Norwegian military is now concerned that their defense equipment may fall into the hands of militant Taliban fighters.

NTB

Norwegian armored vehicles and land cruisers are still left at the international airport in Kabul. The Norwegian Department of Defense is concerned that they could end up being used by the Taliban in revenge.

Col. Morten Andersen, head of the logistics department at the Armed Forces’ Joint Operations Headquarters, confirmed to VG that Norway still has materiel left in Kabul. Among other things, the intention was to donate the equipment to the Afghan Special Forces.

“The equipment we had intended to donate included a pair of light off-road vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, a total of six armored Toyota land cruisers, a number of containers, and some equipment and consumables,” he said.

He said that the first priority for the Norwegian Armed Forces is to get personnel out. They will then decide what happens to the materiel.

“We must decide whether we must try to get these land cruisers and possibly signature material, make it useless on the spot or accept that it will be used by someone else,” he said.

He says he cannot rule out that it will end up in the hands of the Taliban, as they are already in Kabul, but he stressed that the intention is to try to get the equipment home to Norway.

Translated by Lori Ann Reinhall