Taliban Utilized Left-Behind British Gear to Track Down Afghans Who Worked Alongside Allied Forces, Investigation Learns

A whistleblower has told the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK left behind confidential devices allowing the Taliban to identify local individuals that had served with international military.

Data Breach Puts Thousands at Risk

Person A, identified as Person A, testified that people concerned by the information breach were advised to change residences and switch their contact details to ensure their safety from militant forces.

Lawmakers are currently examining official handling of a catastrophic disclosure of confidential data affecting almost nineteen thousand individuals who had asked to move to Britain to flee militant rule.

Data Disclosure Occurred

An electronic document including confidential details, such as identities, addresses and in some cases relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by an official employed at UK special forces headquarters in February 2022.

The leak came to light months later, when the names of nine people who had applied to settle in the UK were posted on social media.

Militant Technology

“There seems to be a misunderstanding that militant forces do not have similar capabilities that allied forces use,” she told lawmakers.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they possess it. If they have your phone number, they can trace you down to within metres. This is exactly how specialized teams accomplished.”

Under inquiry about if militant forces possessed advanced decryption, Person A confirmed: “They have complete capability.”

Aftermath of the Security Lapse

Initial findings presented to the investigation estimated that no fewer than forty-nine family members and associates of people concerned by the incident had been killed.

A superinjunction regarding the leak was implemented in August 2023 and blocked any information about it from being made public until July 2025.

Safety Measures

Given injunction limitations, Person A and the non-governmental organization she was working with informed Afghan families they were supporting that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been breached”.

“We recommended that they relocate where feasible and changed their contact details. Those were the crucial data that, if the Taliban obtained these details, would lead to their location being found,” the source testified.

Challenged Assessments

Person A argued that internal investigation performed by an ex-government employee had been mistaken to state that the acquisition of the dataset by the Taliban was “unlikely to substantially change an individual's existing exposure”.

“The important fact is that these Afghans are not standing up to the Taliban; they remain concealed. Everything boils down to past work history.”

Person A described disturbing violence endured by at-risk Afghans, comprising electrocution, simulated drowning, and severe beatings.

“There are cases of four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to pressure relatives to reveal locations,” she testified.