Taliban to create Afghanistan ‘grand army’ with old regime troops

The Taliban is creating a “grand army” for Afghanistan that will include officers and troops who served the old regime, says the official tasked with overseeing the military’s transformation.

Latifullah Hakimi, head of the Taliban’s Ranks Clearance Commission, also told a news conference on Monday that they had repaired half the 81 helicopters and planes supposedly rendered unserviceable by the United States-led forces during last year’s chaotic withdrawal.

He said Taliban forces took control of more than 300,000 light arms, 26,000 heavy weapons and about 61,000 military vehicles during their lightning takeover of the country.