Militant Groups Gain Greater Access to Soviet and NATO Weapons Smuggled from Afghanistan

During and after the war in Afghanistan, the weapons sent to the country to be used in the conflict spread rapidly to neighboring countries in South and Central Asia. This trend has security implications as Soviet and NATO weapons left over from the wars in Afghanistan have fallen into the hands of several insurgent and terrorist groups in other countries. This is evidenced by photos of weapons seizures by government security forces and is also observable in the visual propaganda content published by an array of regional militant groups.

Taliban training with M4A1 carbines, a Mk 19 grenade launcher, and other NATO equipment in Afghanistan.