Afghan Rulers Used Discarded UK Technology to Locate Afghans That Served Alongside Western Troops, Investigation Is Told

An informant has told an official investigation that the UK abandoned sensitive devices allowing the militant group to locate Afghans who collaborated with allied troops.

Information Leak Endangers Numerous in Danger

The source, known as Person A, explained that Afghans affected by the security lapse were instructed to relocate and switch their phone numbers to avoid detection from the Taliban.

Members of Parliament are looking into official response of a serious leak of private information involving approximately 19k individuals who had requested to move to Britain to flee the Taliban.

How the Leak Was Discovered

An electronic document containing their personal data, including identities, phone numbers and occasionally relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by an official employed at British military command in last year.

The breach became known months later, when details of nine people who had applied to settle in Britain surfaced on social media.

Militant Technology

It appears there is this misconception that militant forces are without comparable resources that western nations possess,” Person A informed the committee.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain your phone number, they can locate you down to within metres. That's precisely what the unit achieved.”

When questioned about regarding if authorities had access to advanced decryption, the source confirmed: “They possess all resources.”

Aftermath of the Information Leak

Preliminary research submitted to the investigation suggested that no fewer than forty-nine family members and associates of people concerned by the incident had been executed.

A gag order about the leak was put in force in late 2023 and blocked all details regarding the matter from media reporting until recently.

Safety Measures

Due to legal constraints, Person A and the aid group she collaborated with advised Afghan families they were supporting that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been intercepted”.

“Our suggestion was that they moved when possible and altered their contact details. That constituted the primary information that, if the Taliban obtained these details, would result in identification and capture,” she said.

Contested Findings

The source argued that government assessment performed by an ex-government employee had been wrong to state that the obtaining of the dataset by the regime was “minimally impact present danger”.

“The important fact is that these Afghans are not confronting militant forces; they are in hiding. Everything boils down to their previous employment.”

The source explained horrific abuse suffered by concerned people, involving electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and violent assaults.

“We have had toddlers who have had their arms broken to pressure the family to disclose hiding places,” she testified.

Terry Jones
Terry Jones

A tech journalist with a decade of experience covering consumer electronics and digital innovation.