Ministry of Defense (MoD) spokesman Dawlat Waziri on Sunday admitted that the ministry does not know how many military vehicles, including armored Humvees, have been captured by the Taliban in recent months.

This comes after a spate of Humvee bombings against military installations that have killed over 200 people in less than a week. 

“We do not know the exact number of Humvees and other vehicles that have been seized by the enemy, but there are some (that were taken). Because when Kunduz collapsed – twice - there were lots of vehicles taken by the enemy;  vehicles have also been taken in Badakhshan, Sangin and other areas by the enemy, but most of these vehicles have been destroyed,” said Waziri.

Parliament members meanwhile called for intelligence agencies to locate these vehicles and destroy them - especially Humvees.

Humvees have been used on numerous occasions, as well as other military vehicles.

Earlier this year, the Taliban used Humvees in the attack on 209 Shaheen Military Corps headquarters in Balkh. Again they used them in an attack on Nawa district of Helmand province.

Last week they used them to storm the Paktia police headquarters and to attack a military base in Maiwand district of Kandahar province. Most were explosive laden and used in suicide bombing attacks.

Officials have however said that military vehicles have been seized by the Taliban during attacks on bases and check posts. However, the Taliban is now using these very vehicles to attack government forces.

This new tactic, by the Taliban, in terms of using Humvees is a problem as the attacks are difficult to stop, sources said.

“(They) have the numbers of the vehicles that have been seized by the enemy in various fights. They should destroy those vehicle, otherwise the vulnerabilities will increase,” said Shagul Rezai a parliament member.

Meanwhile a number of former military officials said that in some provinces, equipment and ammunition is being sold to armed opposition groups – but that no action is being taken to stop this.

“There are rumors that in some parts when they fire one hundred bullets, they report it as one thousand and sell the remaining 900; and there is no doubt about this. How is it possible that insurgents get their ammunition in Faryab from Pakistan,” said Mohammada Aagul a former military official.