🔗 Share this article Taliban Employed Abandoned British Gear to Locate Local Nationals Who Worked With Allied Troops, Investigation Learns A whistleblower has disclosed an official investigation that British authorities left behind classified equipment allowing the militant group to locate Afghans that had served with allied troops. Information Leak Endangers Thousands in Danger Person A, called Person A, explained that Afghans affected by the data leak were told to relocate and switch their contact details to protect themselves from militant forces. Members of Parliament are currently examining the Conservative government's handling of a serious disclosure of confidential data involving almost nineteen thousand individuals who had asked to relocate to the UK to escape the Taliban. Data Disclosure Occurred A spreadsheet including private information, such as identities, contact details and in some cases household data, was mistakenly released by a staff member employed at special operations center in last year. The incident became known in late 2023, when details of nine people who had sought to settle in Britain appeared on social media. Militant Technology Many believe there's this misconception that militant forces do not have comparable resources that allied forces use,” she told MPs. Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they have it. If they have your phone number, they can locate you down to within metres. That is what intelligence groups did.” During testimony about whether the Taliban had access to necessary encryption, Person A confirmed: “They possess all resources.” Impact of the Data Breach Preliminary research presented to the inquiry suggested that at least 49 family members and colleagues of individuals impacted by the incident had been killed. A legal restriction about the incident was put in force in late 2023 and blocked all details about it from media reporting until recently. Safety Measures Given injunction limitations, Person A and the volunteer organization she collaborated with informed Afghan families they were assisting that they had “apprehensions that mobile communications had been compromised”. “We advised that they moved if they could and switched their contact details. These represented the two main details that, should militant forces had access to this information, would cause identification and capture,” Person A explained. Challenged Assessments The source argued that government assessment carried out by a former official had been wrong to state that the acquisition of the dataset by the Taliban was “minimally impact present danger”. “The thing to remember is that affected people are not standing up to militant forces; they are in hiding. All concerns relate to past work history.” The source explained horrific treatment experienced by at-risk Afghans, including electrocution, simulated drowning, and physical abuse. “Instances include toddlers who have had limbs fractured to pressure relatives to reveal locations,” the whistleblower revealed.