Two suspected Islamic State recruits, one of them carrying a British passport, were seized by the Taliban when they tried to slip into Afghanistan last autumn through its northern border, the Guardian can reveal.
The men, who were carrying more than £10,000 in cash, military fatigues and night-vision goggles in their bags, were arrested after a tipoff from Uzbekistan, according to a Taliban source with knowledge of the operation.
“There was one passport from England and one from another country in Europe,” said the source. He discussed the men’s capture at the border crossing of Hairatan on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to journalists.
