Take a Gander at the 'Suspicious' Equipment Afghan Police Found Strapped to a Wild Bird That Exploded When They Shot It

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...a Taliban surveillance bird?

Police in Afghanistan made a curious find after shooting down a wild bird Saturday morning, NBC reported.

The bird reportedly exploded after being shot.

(Image source: screengrab via NBC News)

Police downed the bird after noticing it had an antenna attached to it, provincial police chief Maj. Gen. Abdul Nabi Ilham told NBC News on Saturday, and upon inspection, the carcass revealed plenty of "suspicious metal stuff."

A bomb strapped to the bird was triggered when the bird was shot, scattering the equipment, Ilham said.

"We are gathering all the stuff, but found parts of what looks to be GPS and a small camera," Ilham said.

The bird was found in the northern Faryab province, a hotbed of Taliban violence, though it's unclear who exactly strapped the gear to the bird.

(Image source: screengrab via NBC News)

Ilham said it was possible the bird was on a Taliban surveillance mission.

The incident marked the first time that Afghan police had encountered an animal used for potential military purposes, Ilham said, but it's not a first for Islamic terrorism: Earlier this year, Hamas deployed a donkey as a suicide bomber against Israeli troops in Gaza.

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