WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- More than one-third of all weapons the United States has procured for Afghanistan 's government are missing , according to a government report released Thursday . U.S.-issue M249 squad automatic weapons are shown at a camp in Kandahar in December . The U.S. military failed to `` maintain complete inventory records for an estimated 87,000 weapons -- or about 36 percent -- of the 242,000 weapons that the United States procured and shipped to Afghanistan from December 2004 through June 2008 , '' a U.S. Government Accountability Office report states . `` Accountability lapses occurred throughout the supply chain , '' it says . The Defense Department spent roughly $ 120 million during that period to acquire a range of small arms and light weapons for the Afghan National Security Forces , including rifles , machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers . The military also failed to properly account for an additional 135,000 weapons it obtained for the Afghan forces from 21 other countries . `` What if we had to tell families [ of U.S. soldiers ] not only why we are in Afghanistan but why their son or daughter died at the hands of an insurgent using a weapon purchased by the United States taxpayers ? But that 's what we risk if we were to have tens of thousands of weapons we provided washing around Afghanistan , off the books , '' Rep. John Tierney , D-Massachusetts , chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs , said at the start of a congressional hearing on the report . The military is unable to provide serial numbers for 46,000 of the missing 87,000 weapons , the report concludes . No records have been maintained for the location or disposition for the other 41,000 weapons . The report urges Defense Secretary Robert Gates to `` establish clear accountability procedures for weapons while they are in the control and custody of the United States '' and direct those `` involved in providing these weapons to track ( them ) by serial number and conduct routine physical inventories . '' The GAO review comes as numerous senior officials -- including President Obama -- are expressing serious concern over the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan . On Wednesday , eight Taliban suicide attackers struck Afghan government buildings and a prison in Kabul , killing at least 19 people in a coordinated attack that the Taliban said was in retaliation for the mistreatment of prisoners , according to Afghan officials . The attacks raised new questions over the effectiveness of the ongoing $ 16.5 billion U.S. effort to train and equip Afghan security forces . Officials from the State and Defense departments intend to request an additional $ 5.7 billion in assistance for the Afghan army and police in fiscal year 2009 , according to the report . The Obama administration is conducting a top-to-bottom review of U.S. policy toward both Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan . The president will likely make a decision on sending additional troops to Afghanistan `` in the course of the next few days , '' Gates said Tuesday .
87,000 U.S. weapons bought for Afghan government unaccounted for , report says . The Pentagon has said it is investigating the missing weapons. 135,000 weapons bought from other countries also missing , report says .