2001 War in Afghanistan

M768 60 mm High-Explosive Cartridge in the 2001 War in Afghanistan

M768/A1 60 mm high-explosive mortar cartridges are documented in Afghanistan through U.S.-linked export and Afghan National Army procurement records, with available sources proving supply and fielding context rather than a specific observed firing incident.

Weapon profileM768 60 mm high-explosive cartridge
SideUnited States, NATO, and Afghan government forcesRoleTraining & Foreign Aid
M768 60 mm high-explosive cartridge, 60 mm high-explosive mortar cartridge, Munitions - 2001 War in Afghanistan
Image source: 60mm Mortar Rounds Image

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
M768/A1 high-explosive 60 mm mortar rounds were included in ammunition exported to Afghanistan during 2002-2021.

Sources: Small Arms Survey Calculable Losses

The Afghan National Army received 22,480 M768 60 mm mortar cartridges in a late-2019 SIGAR reporting period.

Sources: SIGAR Quarterly Report January 2020

The M768 is a 60 mm high-explosive cartridge for M224-series mortars, using the M783 point-detonating fuze in the Day & Zimmermann family datasheet.

Sources: M720A1 / M720A2 / M768

Available sources support supply, procurement, and fielding context; they do not document a specific observed firing incident in Afghanistan.

Sources: Small Arms Survey Calculable Losses, SIGAR Quarterly Report January 2020

Timeline

M768 60 mm high-explosive cartridge In 2001 War in Afghanistan

  1. M768/A1 listed in Afghanistan transfer data

    Small Arms Survey listed M768/A1 high-explosive 60 mm mortar rounds among light-weapons ammunition exported to Afghanistan during the 2002-2021 period.

    Sources: Small Arms Survey Calculable Losses

  2. SIGAR records M768 cartridges provided to the ANA

    SIGAR's January 2020 quarterly report listed 22,480 M768 60 mm mortar cartridges among major equipment provided to the Afghan National Army from September 1 through November 15, 2019.

    Sources: SIGAR Quarterly Report January 2020

  3. Small Arms Survey publishes transfer briefing

    Small Arms Survey published its Afghanistan arms-transfer briefing, using public and previously unreleased U.S. government data to describe arms and ammunition exported to Afghanistan from 2002 to 2021.

    Sources: Small Arms Survey Calculable Losses

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The M768 appears in Afghanistan records as supplied mortar ammunition for Afghan government forces during the 2001 War in Afghanistan. Small Arms Survey's January 2024 briefing on arms transfers to Afghanistan lists M768/A1 high-explosive 60 mm mortar rounds among light-weapons ammunition exported to Afghanistan during 2002-2021.

SIGAR's January 2020 quarterly report adds a procurement snapshot for the Afghan National Army. In its table of major equipment provided to the ANA from September 1 through November 15, 2019, SIGAR listed 22,480 M768 mortar cartridges, identified as 60 mm ammunition.

Sources: Small Arms Survey Calculable Losses, SIGAR Quarterly Report January 2020

Timeline

The public record is strongest for transfer and procurement milestones, not for a dated combat firing. Small Arms Survey places the M768/A1 in the full 2002-2021 Afghanistan transfer period covered by its U.S. government-derived data, while SIGAR identifies a specific late-2019 quarter in which M768 cartridges were provided to the ANA.

Those records show the cartridge in the Afghan security-force supply chain before the Afghan government's collapse in August 2021. They do not identify a particular unit, province, target, or engagement in which M768 rounds were fired.

Sources: Small Arms Survey Calculable Losses, SIGAR Quarterly Report January 2020

Narrative

The M768 is a U.S. 60 mm high-explosive mortar cartridge for the M224-series mortar system. Day & Zimmermann describes the M768 as part of the M720A1/M720A2/M768 60 mm HE family and says it differs from the M720A1 primarily by using an M783 point-detonating fuze.

In Afghanistan, the sourced role is ammunition supply for Afghan government forces rather than independently documented battlefield effects. Small Arms Survey's transfer list shows M768/A1 HE rounds as part of the broader light-weapons ammunition exported to Afghanistan, and SIGAR's January 2020 report ties M768 cartridges to ANA equipment provision in the final years of the war.

Sources: M720A1 / M720A2 / M768, Small Arms Survey Calculable Losses, SIGAR Quarterly Report January 2020

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Sources