Afghan Air Force hurt by inoperable aircraft - Afghan lawmakers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One-third of the Afghan Air Force's aircraft are inoperable and it has run out of U.S.-made precision-guided rockets amid a massive drop in U.S.-led airstrikes, hampering Kabul's efforts to halt Taliban advances, Afghan lawmakers said on Friday.

U.S.-provided airpower was intended to give Kabul a major advantage over the insurgents with the withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign troops. But Kabul's loss of aircraft and depletion of precision-guided rockets, as well as Taliban assassinations of pilots, are eroding that edge, the lawmakers said.