Large portion of Afghan Air Force fled to Uzbekistan

A large portion of the Afghan Air Force has ended up in neighbouring Uzbekistan, after hundreds of service members used US-supplied planes and helicopters to flee the Taliban, The Wall Street Journal reported citing American officials.

At least 46 of the aircraft crossed over Afghanistan's border into Uzbekistan since August 15, when the Taliban seized Kabul and the government collapsed, the officials said.

The planes and helicopters carried a total of 585 members of Afghan forces with them, the officials said.

A handful of airplanes also ended up in Tajikistan, also on Afghanistan's northern border.

The US embassies of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

The migration of the aircraft comes as Washington is only beginning to tally up how much of the billions of dollars in US-supplied hardware has ended up with the Taliban.