The Islamic State posted photos of equipment abandoned by U.S. troops after they came under “effective enemy fire” while on a mission with Afghan troops.
Among the equipment lost were a rocket launcher, ammunition, grenades, ID cards and an encrypted radio. U.S. Army Gen. Charles Cleveland confirmed the equipment was lost during a July firefight in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. Despite five special operations forces being wounded in the attack, Cleveland insisted U.S. positions were not overrun by the ISIS fighters.
“We have been able to determine that the I.D. card and most of the pictured equipment was lost during recent operations in southern Nangarhar,” said Cleveland in a statement Tuesday. He noted that while some of the equipment, such as the radio, were sensitive in nature, he does not expect “any measurable operational impact.”
PHOTOS: #ISIS posts photos of equipment they took from retreating #US soldiers in Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/8lraUt2Ppv
— Conflict News (@Conflicts) August 9, 2016
PHOTOS: #ISIS posts photos of equipment they took from retreating #US soldiers in Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/8lraUt2Ppv
— Conflict News (@Conflicts) August 9, 2016
The equipment was lost while soldiers were relocating a casualty collection point to a safer location. Setting up such a location is a standard operating procedure for military operations.
“For understandable reasons, the lives of soldiers were not put at risk to recover the equipment,” said Cleveland.
The equipment loss came just after President Obama authorized U.S. troops and commanders to take a more active role in fighting against ISIS in Afghanistan. While the terrorist group’s Afghan province, known as Wilayat Khorasan, has a much smaller following compared to its main territory in Iraq and Syria, it has still been able to engage in high profile attacks. The group’s most recent attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul left over 80 dead, making it the largest terrorist attack since the U.S. invasion in 2001.
Send tips to russ@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.