Afghan Taliban have rejected United States President Donald Trump’s demand to hand over weapons left behind by the US army and have instead asked for more arms and ammunition.

According to Bloomberg, an unnamed Taliban official said that more weapons are needed to fight the Islamic State Khorasan.

Speaking to supporters the night before he formally took power, Trump had said that the US army had left behind ‘billions’ worth of weapons behind when it left Afghanistan in 2021.

He had added that the US was giving billions in aid to Afghanistan, but the aid will only be continued if the Taliban handed over the weapons first.

Trump had gone on to say that he would get back the weapons for ‘a couple of bucks’.

While the exchange over return of weapons could potentially sour relations between the two countries, the Taliban have tried to turn over a fresh leaf in their relations with the US. Improved relations would help unlock over $9 billion funds for Afghanistan that have been frozen since the fall of Kabul 2021.

Trump’s admission of weapons being left behind in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal are in sharp contrast with claims from other officials in the Biden administration who have consistently denied such claims. However, officials have admitted that weapons were handed over to Afghan defence forces as part of a capacity building operation.

The new US president has also imposed a blanket ban on all foreign aid for the next 90 days to evaluate whether the aid being disbursed is in line with his foreign policy aims. The aid cutoff could have severe implications for Afghanistan, whose economy is still struggling to find its feet.