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A confidential source has disclosed the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK left behind classified equipment enabling the Taliban to identify local individuals that had served with international military.

Data Breach Puts Thousands in Danger

The source, identified as Person A, stated that people concerned by the security lapse were told to change residences and change their contact details to ensure their safety from the ruling authorities.

MPs are looking into the Conservative government's handling of a massive disclosure of personal details involving approximately 19k Afghans who had requested to move to the UK to flee militant rule.

How the Leak Was Discovered

An electronic document with private information, including identities, addresses and sometimes household data, was accidentally leaked by an official working at British military command in early 2022.

The leak came to light months later, when details of several individuals who had requested to relocate to the UK were posted on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

“There seems to be this misconception that militant forces do not have comparable resources that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to the committee.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain your phone number, they can trace you down to within metres. That's precisely what specialized teams achieved.”

Under inquiry about whether the Taliban possessed sophisticated technology, the whistleblower confirmed: “They possess all resources.”

Impact of the Security Lapse

Early investigations submitted to the committee indicated that no fewer than forty-nine kin and colleagues of individuals impacted by the breach had been executed.

A legal restriction about the leak was put in force in last year and blocked all details regarding the matter from being made public until recently.

Safety Measures

Because she was restricted, Person A and the aid group associated with informed Afghan families they were supporting that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been compromised”.

“Our suggestion was that they change residence when possible and altered their mobile numbers. Those were the two main details that, if authorities acquired this information, would cause their location being found,” the source testified.

Challenged Assessments

The source disputed that an official review performed by a former official had been wrong to determine that the obtaining of the information by militant forces was “unlikely to substantially change an individual's existing exposure”.

“The crucial point is that these individuals are not confronting the Taliban; they are in hiding. Everything boils down to former occupations.”

The source explained terrible abuse endured by at-risk Afghans, including electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and severe beatings.

“We have had four-year-old children who have had limbs fractured to pressure relatives to say where someone is,” Person A stated.