Taliban tumble: militants fall from overcrowded pickup truck

Militants' parade was marred by unwelcome encounter with gravity

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  In recent days, the Taliban's Badri special forces unit has been in charge of security outside Kabul international airport. AFP

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  Taliban special force fighters and a journalist get up after they fell down from a vehicle at the airport in Kabul. AFP

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  Taliban forces stand guard at the entrance gate of the airport a day after the withdrawal of US troops from Kabul. Reuters

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  Vehicles are toppled inside the Hamid Karzai International Airport. AP

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  Taliban special force fighters arrive inside the Hamid Karzai International Airport. AP

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  A commercial aircraft at the airport. Reuters

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  Journalists film a group of Taliban fighters a day after the US troop withdrawal. Reuters

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  Taliban forces patrol the airport grounds. EPA

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  Afghan Air Force A-29 attack aircraft parked inside a hangar at the airport in Kabul, with armoured vests lying strewn on the ground. AFP

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  Taliban fighters stand on the footrest of an armoured vehicle. AFP

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  A Taliban member stands next to a damaged helicopter. AFP

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  Taliban Badri special force fighters dressed in uniforms, boots, balaclavas and body armour similar to those worn by special forces around the world. AFP

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  Taliban fighters inside an Afghan Air Force aircraft. AFP

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  A Taliban fighter sits inside the cockpit of an Afghan Air Force aircraft. AFP

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  The US Department of Defence has confirmed the Taliban are in possession of dozens of US-supplied and other aircraft. AFP

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  A member of the Taliban walks out of an Afghan Air Force aircraft. AFP

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Taliban special forces fell off the back of a pickup truck at Kabul airport while parading after the departure of the last US troops from Afghanistan.

Members of the Badri 313 commando battalion dressed in full combat gear, including US M16 rifles, body armour and helmets, were packed into the back of the vehicle.

The equipment was taken from Afghan security forces who abandoned their positions as the Taliban advanced.

Despite the military achievements of the group in recent months, packing armed men onto the bed of a pickup truck proved a challenge, possibly because a local journalist was perched precariously on the vehicle.