The official’s account was corroborated by several other police figures, who also declined to comment on the record.

Mr. Hellal, the spokesman for the Kandahar police, said that officers at only a quarter of the police posts in Kandahar had laser sights on their weapons, and that none had night-vision goggles.

“Night-vision equipment is used in ambushes by the insurgents and it is very effective,” said Maj. Gen. Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry. “You can see your enemy, but they cannot see you coming.”

Just where the Taliban are obtaining their expensive new equipment is the subject of dispute. Mr. Mujahid claimed they had seized it from government units they defeated. But Afghan officials say that only their elite units use night vision and laser gear, all American-made, and not Russian, Iranian or Pakistani equipment, which is what the Taliban have been using.

One telescopic night-vision scope for the M-4 rifle, for instance, sells for $5,000 on the black market in Pakistan. Flush with cash from its domination of the opium trade, the Taliban may simply be buying them. While many Afghan units have the M-4, few of them have telescopic sights for it.

American military officials say they suspect both Russia and Iran are aiding the Taliban, in addition to the group’s traditional patrons in Pakistan. During a visit in September to Kabul, the American defense secretary, Jim Mattis, said both countries should know better than to support the Taliban, as they had suffered themselves from terrorist groups.

Najib Danish, the spokesman for the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, said that attacks by the Taliban have risen sharply this year, as have police casualties. Last year, 6,700 Afghan security forces of all types were killed, the highest level of the war. Most of the dead are from the police, who typically are spread in smaller units around the country, guarding roads and buildings.