ARES documented a Chinese QLZ-87 automatic grenade launcher among weapons captured by the Taliban in Wardak province during the Taliban's 2021 offensive; the public evidence supports capture and possession, not a confirmed firing event or acquisition route.
| Claim | Sources |
|---|---|
| Taliban forces possessed a captured Chinese QLZ-87 automatic grenade launcher in Wardak province in July 2021. | Sources: Arms Captured by the Taliban during their Conquest of Afghanistan |
| The QLZ-87 acquisition route in Afghanistan is not publicly established by the cited direct source. | Sources: Arms Captured by the Taliban during their Conquest of Afghanistan |
| The QLZ-87 is a Chinese 35 mm automatic grenade launcher intended for portable infantry fire support. |
Timeline
ARES identified a Chinese QLZ 87 automatic grenade launcher among RPG-7 and Type 69 shoulder-fired recoilless guns captured by the Taliban in Wardak province.
Sources: Arms Captured by the Taliban during their Conquest of Afghanistan
Armament Research Services documented the QLZ-87 in its October 2021 review of weapons captured by the Taliban during the final offensive of the 2001 War in Afghanistan. In the captured-arms section, ARES lists Chinese QLZ 87 hand-held grenade launchers among grenade launchers documented in Taliban possession and identifies a Chinese QLZ 87 automatic grenade launcher in a July 2021 Wardak province capture image.
The same account separates capture from origin. ARES states that M203 and GP-25 launchers were likely captured from the same general sources as other Afghan security-force small arms, but that the source of the QLZ 87 remained unknown.
Sources: Arms Captured by the Taliban during their Conquest of Afghanistan
The documented QLZ-87 appearance belongs to the Taliban's 2021 campaign, after the withdrawal of most U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan began in April 2021 and before the Taliban entered Kabul on 15 August 2021.
ARES places the specific Wardak province capture image in July 2021. Its article describes the wider May-to-August 2021 period as one in which the Taliban seized large quantities of weapons, equipment, and vehicles from Afghan government forces, abandoned positions, defectors, and intact bases.
Sources: Arms Captured by the Taliban during their Conquest of Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, the QLZ-87 record is best treated as a captured light-weapon appearance rather than as a documented standard-issue Taliban system. The launcher is a Chinese 35 mm automatic grenade launcher designed for portable infantry fire support, and ARES identifies it among the light weapons captured by the Taliban during the Afghan government's collapse.
The public evidence does not establish whether the Wardak example had previously been held by Afghan security forces, moved through older regional stocks, or reached the theater by another route. It also does not confirm later firing, retention, or operational employment after the photographed capture.
Sources: Arms Captured by the Taliban during their Conquest of Afghanistan, The Chinese QLZ87 Automatic Grenade Launcher
