Taliban show off dozens of US-made armoured vehicles in parades featuring helicopter air display

THE Taliban has displayed dozens of seized US-made armoured vehicles and helicopters in a series of "victory parades".

The jihadis wasted no time in showing off their new kit through the southern Afghan streets of Kandahar in the latest chilling display of their victory over US and UK forces.

At one point, dozens of US armoured vehicles were pictured moving down a remote highway – while a Black Hawk helicopter escorted them from above with the Taliban flag draped from its side.

The sobering scenes took place just hours after US President Joe Biden defended pulling troops out of Afghanistan and effectively bringing the country's two-decade presence there to an end.

He described the emergency evacuation of more than 122,000 in just over two weeks an "extraordinary success", adding: "'No nation has ever done anything like it in all of history; only the United States had the capacity and the will and ability to do it."

But in a humiliating turn of events on Wednesday, the jihadis – who seized billions of dollars worth of American military hardware from retreating Afghan soldiers – paraded dozens of green Humvees and armoured fighting vehicles and covered them in the white and black Taliban flag.

They also had a chopper fly overhead as fighters gleefully watched on and waved from below.

This is the second time a US Black Hawk helicopter was spotting flying over Kandahar, suggesting someone from the former Afghan army was at the helm given the Taliban lack pilots, the Daily Mail reports.

On Tuesday, the Taliban seized a massive arsenal of US tanks, adding to their burgeoning arms stash now worth £62billion.

Video shows row after row of tanks and other armoured vehicles parked up and being inspected by the fanatics after being captured when they defeated government forces.

At one point, a Taliban fighter was seen on top of one of the vehicles as he viewers got a look at the extent of their weaponry.

The militants have also been pictured posing for snaps in abandoned fighter jets as satellite shots show the aircraft treasure trove left behind by the US in Kabul.

Grinning jihadis sat in the cockpits of gunships and rode on the bonnets of US Air Force Humvees as they strutted about the airport hours after Joe Biden's troops finally left Afghanistan.

Taliban Badri special force fighters were pictured training on the grounds of Kabul airport while other jihadis rummaged through hangars full of discarded kit and abandoned helicopters.

In one picture, a fighter is seen taking pictures of the damaged Chinook choppers left behind, while others explore the inside of a US Air Force plane.

The Taliban now has access to billions of pounds worth of equipment, including identification devices that could alarmingly help them identify Afghans who helped coalition forces – many of whom remain stranded in Kabul.

According to US Republican Congressman Jim Banks – who served in Afghanistan as an officer in charge of supplying weapons – the group now has "more Black Hawk helicopters than 85 per cent of the countries in the world".

"Due to the negligence of this administration, the Taliban now has access to $85billion (£62billion) worth of military equipment," he said.

It comes as the Taliban's spokesman said the West's retreat from Afghanistan should serve as a "lesson for the world".

The group's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, addressed the media this morning from Kabul airport.

"Congratulations to Afghanistan… this victory belongs to us all," he said.

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