Kabul: A video has surfaced on social media suggesting that an Mi-35 chopper gifted by India to Afghanistan may be in possession of the Taliban. The video footage, which is widely shared on social media platforms, shows a bike-borne man riding past the attack chopper believed to be parked at the Kunduz airport. The Afghan city of Kunduz was captured by the Taliban last week.
The video, however, shows that the chopper may have been defunct as it does not have rotors. “The serial number of the chopper seized by the Taliban shows number 123 which is similar to that of the choppers gifted by India,” a source was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Multiple reports cited that the chopper could be one of the four platforms gifted to Afghanistan by India as a part of its capacity-building exercise. The Indian defence establishment has not responded on the matter, and news agency ANI cited sources as saying that the defence forces ‘declined to comment’ and dismissed the development as Afghanistan’s ‘internal matter’.
According to reports, the four choppers were also present at the Pathankot airbase in 2016, when terrorists attacked the military base.
The Taliban militants have been on a major offensive across Afghanistan which has been witnessing the withdrawal of the US troops over the past few months. At least eight cities have been captured by the militant outfit, forcing citizens to flee. On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said that he did not regret the decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and expressed confidence that the Afghan leaders will ‘fight for themselves’.