KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF), an anti-Taliban armed group, claims that its fighters killed 21 Taliban members, including several commanders, and wounded 37 others in a series of coordinated attacks in northeastern Badakhshan province.
In a statement on X on Friday, the group said its fighters launched the operations in Zebak district early on Thursday, targeting Taliban bases, units, and military detachments. The clashes are still ongoing, the AFF added.
The group said its forces had pushed Taliban fighters from positions on high ground surrounding the Zebak Border Battalion and that repeated Taliban attempts to retake the areas had failed.
“At least 21 Taliban terrorists, including several of their field commanders, have been killed,” the AFF said, adding that at least 37 wounded Taliban fighters were airlifted by helicopter to hospitals in the provincial capital Faizabad and other districts.
The AFF also claimed to have seized weapons, ammunition, and military equipment from Taliban forces during the operation. The group said one of its own fighters was killed in the clashes.
Earlier on Friday, Daoud Naji, head of the AFF’s political committee, confirmed that the group was engaged in combat with Taliban forces in Badakhshan. In a post on X, he said the battle has entered a “new phase” and described it as a struggle for “Afghanistan’s liberation.”
Taliban-affiliated outlet Radio Hurriyat also confirmed fighting in the “Topkhana” area of Zebak district, citing the Taliban’s 219 Omar Salis Division. The outlet reported that five “insurgents” were killed and several others wounded, and alleged that the fighters had entered Afghanistan from Pakistan’s Chitral district.
The AFF was established following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 and is led by General Yasin Zia, the former chief of staff of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces. The group is composed largely of former Afghan military and security personnel and has claimed responsibility for hundreds of attacks against Taliban forces in recent years, particularly in Panjshir, Kabul, Balkh, Herat, and neighboring provinces.
The latest fighting comes amid a rise in armed opposition activity in Badakhshan. Last week, a newly formed anti-Taliban group known as Sepahian-e Mihan, or Soldiers of the Homeland, briefly seized control of Yaftal-e Payeen district, marking the first reported temporary loss of a district by the Taliban since its return to power.
Following that incident, residents and opposition groups reported that Taliban forces launched extensive security operations across parts of Badakhshan, carrying out house-to-house searches and detaining dozens of people accused of collaborating with armed opposition groups.
While the Taliban generally downplays the activities of such opposition groups and rarely comments in detail on individual attacks, the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) regularly tracks and reports security incidents involving anti-Taliban groups in its quarterly updates to the UN Security Council.
