Taliban Employed Discarded British Gear to Locate Local Nationals Who Worked Alongside Western Troops, Investigation Is Told
A whistleblower has disclosed an official investigation that British authorities abandoned classified devices permitting the Taliban to track down local individuals that had served with allied troops.
Information Leak Puts Thousands at Risk
Person A, known as Person A, explained that individuals impacted by the information breach were told to relocate and switch their contact details to avoid detection from the ruling authorities.
Members of Parliament are investigating the UK government's handling of a serious leak of private information concerning approximately 19k individuals who had asked to come to the United Kingdom to escape the regime.
The Information Breach Occurred
A data file with their personal data, such as names, addresses and in some cases household data, was inadvertently disclosed by a staff member employed at UK special forces headquarters in last year.
The incident came to light in late 2023, when the names of nine people who had applied to settle in the UK appeared on online platforms.
Regime's Resources
It appears there is this misconception that Afghan rulers lack similar capabilities that allied forces use,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.
“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Should they obtain your phone number, they are able to track your exact position. This is exactly how specialized teams achieved.”
Under inquiry about whether the Taliban owned advanced decryption, the source declared: “They have complete capability.”
Consequences of the Security Lapse
Early investigations provided to the investigation estimated that at least 49 kin and co-workers of people concerned by the leak had been killed.
A legal restriction regarding the breach was put in force in late 2023 and prevented all details concerning it from public disclosure until July 2025.
Safety Measures
Because she was restricted, the whistleblower and the volunteer organization she collaborated with advised Afghan families they were supporting that they had “suspicions that mobile communications had been compromised”.
“Our suggestion was that they moved where feasible and changed their contact details. That constituted the two main details that, if the Taliban acquired this information, would lead to their location being found,” Person A explained.
Contested Findings
The source disputed that an official review performed by an ex-government employee had been mistaken to determine that the possession of the records by the regime was “minimally impact present danger”.
“The thing to remember is that affected people are not confronting the Taliban; they remain concealed. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”
She detailed terrible violence suffered by concerned people, including electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and violent assaults.
“There are cases of toddlers who have had their arms broken to try to get households to reveal locations,” the whistleblower revealed.