Thousands of dangerous prisoners, including terrorists and senior al-Qaeda members, are now free in Afghanistan.
As part of their takeover of the country, Taliban forces on Sunday were able to overrun the previously U.S.-occupied Bagram Air Base. Afghan forces guarding the Pul-e-Charkhi prison surrendered to the Taliban without a fight and militants released the inmates.
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The prison is the largest detention center in Afghanistan. It was holding between 5,000 and 7,000 inmates, according to CNN, with a maximum security block for the very worst offenders including former Islamic State and al-Qaeda fighters. A few hundred prisoners are criminals but the majority are terrorists.
Video from an independent Afghan news agency, which supports the Taliban, apparently shows the prisoners being released.
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U.S. security officials are in the process of altering earlier assessments of how soon terrorist groups, like al-Qaeda, could reform in Afghanistan. Officials previously said it could take less than two years from the U.S. military's withdrawal for an extremist group to regenerate in Afghanistan and pose a threat. Based on the evolving situation, officials now believe terror groups like al-Qaida may be able to grow much faster than expected.
Back in July when the U.S. handed over control of the air base and prison to Afghan government forces, a regional security official told CNN that without U.S. support, the detention facility was "vulnerable." Taliban forces proved that right.
Barry Pavel, senior vice president and director of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council, issued a statement saying a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan could be even more dangerous now than it was in the 1990s, and in particular on September 11, 2001.
"A Taliban-led Afghanistan that provides tech-savvy global terrorists safe haven to remotely recruit new followers is a different level of security threat than it was previously," Pavel said.
Dangerous inmates at other prisons throughout the country have also been released by the Taliban. Some of the prisoners are high-profile fighters who had been sentenced to death by the Afghan government, according to a report by Tolo News.
While the repercussions of freeing terrorists has yet to be seen, a Taliban spokesperson vowed Tuesday to forgive those who fought the militant group, saying the Taliban is not seeking revenge. In his first news conference, Zabihullah Mujahid also said the Taliban would not allow Afghanistan to be used as a base for attacking other countries.
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