Documents: Arms caches seized in Afghanistan, April through June 2011
Source: U.S. Department of Defense 
Publication Dates: See below
Notes: As part ongoing efforts to better understand the weapons acquired and used by armed groups and other unauthorized end-users, Small Arms Survey submitted a request to US Central Command (CENTCOM) for documents and photos of arms caches recovered in Afghanistan from April through June 2011. In respo
nse to this request, CENTCOM provided the following storyboards (succinct summaries of cache seizures and other events). Many of the documents include photos of the markings on one or more of the seized items. The items consist primarily of older generation Chinese and Soviet-designed small arms, light weapons, and ammunition, along with large quantities of IED components and explosives. The items are consistent with those recovered from caches previously studied by Small Arms Survey.
The documents were obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act. They are posted as received from the responding agency. For more data and information on illicit weapons in Afghanistan, see the links at the bottom of the post.
1) ERW – Weapons Cache, Kandahar, 2 April 2011. Items: Recoilless rifle rounds, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) rounds and components, hand grenades, small arms ammunition. Includes photos of markings.
2) Cache – Complex Cache, Helmand, 3 June 2011. Items: Artillery rocket, landmine, IED components, explosives, small arms ammunition.
3) Cache – Complex Cache, Kandahar, 3 May 2011. Items: Recoilless rifle rounds and tripod, RPG rounds and components, mortar and rocket fuzes, machine gun barrels, radios, small arms ammunition. Includes photos of markings.
4) Cache – Weapons Cache, Kunar, 3-6 April 2011. Items: Recoilless rifle rounds, RPG rounds and components, landmine, improvised rocket launcher, heavy machine gun components, small arms ammunition. Includes photos of markings.
5) ERW – Complex Cache, Kandahar, 4 June 2011. Items: Recoilless rifle round, landmines, hand grenades, RPG rounds, machine gun, small arms ammunition and magazines, explosives, radio.
6) ERW – Complex Cache, Paktika, 4 April 2011. Items: Recoilless rifle round, RPG rounds, landmines, mortars, IED and components, explosives.
7) ERW – Weapons Cache, Nangarhar, 4 June 2011. Items: landmines, hand grenades, hand grenade components, IED components. Includes photos of markings.
8) Cache – Weapons Cache, Kandahar, 6 May 2011. Items: hand grenades and components, firearms components, small arms ammunition, explosives, bayonet, flashlight.
9) Cache – Weapon Cache, Parwan, 7 April 2011. Items: RPG rounds and components, RPG launcher, machine guns, bolt-action rifles, landmines, small arms ammunition. Includes photos of markings.
10) Cache – Short Term, Ghazni, 7 June 2011. Items: RPG round, machine gun, small arms ammunition.
11) Cache – Weapons Cache, Nangarhar, 7 May 2011. Items: Hand grenades and components, rifles, pistol, RPG components and accessories, military uniforms.
12) Cache – Complex Cache, Helmand, 9 May 2011. Items: RPG rounds and components, IED components, rifle, explosives.
13) Cache – Weapon Cache, Kandahar, 10 May 2011. Items: Mortar, artillery rocket component, heavy machine gun, small arms ammunition.
14) Pashakari, Shepadar, Samandakhel areas, 11-13 May 2011. Items: Improvised rifle, pistol. Includes photo of markings. Document is heavily redacted.
15) Cache – Weapon Cache, Uruzgan, 6 April 2011. Items: RPG rounds, small arms ammunition.
16) Cache – Weapon Cache, Kandahar, 12 May 2011. Items: RPG rounds and components.
17) Cache – Weapon Cache, Helmand, 22 May 2011. Items: Rifle and ammunition. Includes photo of markings.
18) ERW – Weapon Cache, Uruzgan, 16 April 2011. Items: RPG launcher and round, IED components, Explosives. Document 30 is a duplicate.
19) Cache – Weapon Cache, Uruzgan, 17 April 2011. Items: Rifle, ammunition.
20) Cache – Weapons Cache, 22 June 2011. Items: Firearms ammunition.
21) Cache – Weapons Cache, 25 June 2011. Items: Rifle. Includes photo of markings.
22) Cache – Complex Cache, Kandahar, 21 April 2011. Items: IED components, explosives.
23) Cache – Complex Cache, Kandahar, 21 May 2011. Items: IED components, explosives.
25) ERW – Weapons Cache, Kandahar, 23 May 2011. Items: Hand grenade, small arms ammunition.
26) Cache – Complex Cache, Kandahar, 27 May 2011. Items: Artillery rocket, mortar rounds, RPG rounds, recoilless rifle round, landmine, hand grenades, machine gun, small arms ammunition, projectiles, IED components, explosives. Includes photos of markings.
27) Cache – Weapons Cache, Kandahar, 27 April 2011. Items: RPG rounds and components.
28) ERW – Weapons Cache, Kandahar, 27 May 2011. Items: RPG round, small arms ammunition, Afghan security forces uniform.
29) Cache – Weapons Cache, Kandahar, 31 May 2011. Items: Grenades, small arms ammunition, rifles. No photos of seized items.
30) ERW – Weapons Cache, Khost, 31 May 2011. Items: Recoilless rifle rounds. Includes photos of markings.
31) Cache, Helmand, 18 April 2011. Items: Machine gun, recoilless rifle rounds, RPG launcher, rifles, grenade launchers, hand grenade, projected grenades, small arms ammunition, IED components.
32) Badghis, 17 May 2011. Items: IED components, small arms ammunition.
For more information:
1) ‘Surveying the Battlefield: Illicit Arms In Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia’ in Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets
2) The Conventional Weapons Threat to Land Forces in Afghanistan, UK Defence Intelligence Staff, 27 December 2012
3) Weapons Seized by British Forces in Afghanistan, UK Ministry of Defence
4) Insurgent Weapons in Afghanistan, UK Defence Intelligence Staff, 2 December 2010
Arms trafficking, arms trade, and weapons ID docs 