🔗 Share this article Taliban Utilized Abandoned British Gear to Locate Afghans That Served Alongside Allied Troops, Investigation Is Told An informant has disclosed an official investigation that the UK left behind sensitive equipment permitting the militant group to locate local individuals that had served with western forces. Data Breach Endangers Thousands in Danger Person A, called Person A, testified that individuals impacted by the security lapse were instructed to move homes and alter their phone numbers to avoid detection from the Taliban. MPs are currently examining the Conservative government's response of a serious disclosure of private information affecting nearly 19,000 Afghans who had requested to come to the UK to avoid the Taliban. How the Leak Was Discovered An electronic document including private information, such as identities, addresses and sometimes family information, was accidentally leaked by an official working at special operations center in February 2022. The leak was discovered in late 2023, when identities of multiple applicants who had applied to settle in the UK surfaced on Facebook. Taliban Capabilities Many believe there's this misconception that Afghan rulers do not have similar capabilities that allied forces use,” she told lawmakers. Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain your phone number, they can trace you down to within metres. That is what the unit accomplished.” Under inquiry about if militant forces possessed sophisticated technology, the source confirmed: “They've got everything.” Consequences of the Data Breach Early investigations submitted to the committee suggested that no fewer than forty-nine family members and colleagues of people concerned by the leak had been killed. A superinjunction about the breach was implemented in late 2023 and blocked any information about it from public disclosure until July 2025. Security Recommendations Given injunction limitations, the source and the volunteer organization associated with informed Afghan families they were supporting that they had “apprehensions that mobile communications had been intercepted”. “We recommended that they moved when possible and altered their contact details. These represented the two main details that, should militant forces had access to these details, would result in identification and capture,” Person A explained. Challenged Assessments The whistleblower disputed that government assessment conducted by an ex-government employee had been incorrect to determine that the possession of the information by the regime was “minimally impact current risk levels”. “The thing to remember is that affected people are not confronting the Taliban; they are in hiding. All concerns relate to their previous employment.” She detailed terrible treatment suffered by at-risk Afghans, involving electrocution, waterboarding, and severe beatings. “We have had toddlers who have had limbs fractured to pressure relatives to disclose hiding places,” the whistleblower revealed.