The image - which has not been verified - looks like the US Marines raising the American flag in the Battle of Iwo Jima.
The image - which has not been verified - looks like the US Marines raising the American flag in the Battle of Iwo Jima.
The Taliban appear to have released a photo mocking the Americans, copying one of the most recognisable photos of World War II.
The Taliban, which took control of Kabul in Afghanistan last weekend, has released propaganda video of a fighting unit, the Badri 313 Battalion, patrolling parts of the city.
The videos feature heavily armed Taliban soldiers in full military gear, running in slow motion and speaking to the camera while displaying US-made and other modern weapons that appear to be seized from Afghan special forces.
The Taliban has reportedly taken control of various helicopters and light attack aircraft, including 35 American Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
And in one photo that appeared online featuring the same fighting unit - but that has not been verified - the Badri 313 Battalion appeared to be mocking one of the most recognisable images of World War II – US Marines raising a flag at Iwo Jima in 1945.
The image - which has not been verified - looks like the US Marines raising the American flag in the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Usually Taliban fighters are pictured in turbans and vests over shalwar kameez and carrying old guns from the Soviet-Afghan War in the 80s.
The elite Badri 313 special unit, however, is well kitted out in the video in camouflage gear and body armour, with tactical helmets on their heads — some with night-vision goggles — and carrying M4 carbine assault rifles next to armoured Humvees.
M4s are made by Colt's Manufacturing Company, which is based in the United States and manufactures weapons for the American military.
The chaotic way in which the US withdrew meant the Taliban was able to secure all kinds of supplies.
Fox News reported White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan saying "we don't have a complete picture, obviously, of where every article of defence materials has gone."
"But certainly a fair amount of it has fallen into the hands of the Taliban. And obviously, we don't have a sense that they are going to readily hand it over to us at the airport."
The gear in the Taliban video is similar to that worn by US Marines - seen here guarding evacuees from the airport in Kabul on Friday. Photo / AP
"Everything that hasn't been destroyed is the Taliban's now," one official told Reuters on the basis of anonymity.
The use of propaganda films and messages is not new for the Taliban.
In the past they have released video footage of special units, showing fighters training in camps near the border with Pakistan.
Ordinary Taliban fighters patrol Kabul this week after taking the city. Photo / AP
And with the capture of Kabul this week, the Taliban is making a concerted effort to present itself as a responsible government rather than a guerilla terrorist organisation.
It is holding press conferences and using social media - most notably Twitter - to get its message out in English, Arabic and local languages to appeal to both the Afghan people and the international community.
The Telegraph reported there was no sign of the Badri 313 Battalion at the airport, where Taliban fighters there tried to keep order with AK-47s and sticks.
