The data breach, which was made public earlier in the week, contained personal data of nearly 19,000 Afghans who assisted the British in the fight against the Taliban between 2001 and 2021.
However, in addition to the thousands of Afghans, over 100 British officials – including intelligence agents and personnel from the special forces SAS and SBS – are said to have had their names revealed, according to BBC, which calls it "one of the worst security breaches in modern British history".
The information is said to have been leaked by mistake by someone at the headquarters of Britain's special forces in 2022, according to BBC. But it was not until Tuesday that the revelation reached the public through Defense Minister John Healey, after a court lifted a secrecy order that prohibited British media from reporting on the matter.
Dismisses danger to life
About 900 of the 19,000 Afghans on the list who are considered to be in danger, as well as 3,600 of their family members, have or will be relocated to the United Kingdom, writes BBC.
In vain – if one is to believe the Taliban themselves.
No one has been arrested for their previous actions, no one has been killed and no one has been monitored, says the movement's spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat on Thursday, according to the news agency AFP.
Fitrat further states that the Taliban already have all the information about who collaborated with the British.
All their information and documents are here at the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, and the intelligence service, he says.
Promised amnesty
When the Taliban regained power in 2021, all those who collaborated with foreign forces were seen as traitors. At the same time, the Taliban's top leader Hibatullah Akhundzada promised amnesty for Afghans who collaborated with NATO forces or the previous government.
Hamdullah Fitrat says that "rumors" about the leaked documents are being spread to create fear among Afghans and their families.
A few of the individuals on the list are said to have been killed, according to Sky News, but it is unclear if it is due to the leak.
