Former Afghan security officials with secret knowledge of US operations, left behind after the Americans were evacuated from the country, are vulnerable to recruitment or coercion by Russia, China and Iran.


The Republican lawmakers, noted that the administration of President Joe Biden did not prioritize their evacuation in a new report.

It is especially relevant given information that some former Afghan soldiers have fled to Iran, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee said in a report marking the first anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Kabul.

The Biden administration, the authors of the report note, failed to prioritize the evacuation of Afghan special forces and other US-trained elite units during the chaotic operation to withdraw US troops from Kabul International Airport on August 14-30, 2021.

The administration calls the operation an "outstanding success" that evacuated more than 124,000 Americans and Afghans and ended an "endless" war.

However, hundreds of US-trained former security officials and their families remain in Afghanistan amid reports that the Taliban are killing and torturing former Afghan officials.

These former employees "could be recruited or forced to work for one of America's adversaries who maintain a presence in Afghanistan, including Russia, China or Iran," the authors of the Republican report said.