KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – As Afghanistan approaches the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power, the Afghanistan United Front, led by former Afghan National Army commander Sami Sadat, has announced the launch of a military campaign against the Taliban under the name “Operation Muharib.”
In a statement released on Saturday (August 1), the group said its Military Commission would be responsible for directing military operations against the Taliban and “other terrorist groups” operating in Afghanistan.
The statement said the campaign is intended to support what it described as the mission of liberating Afghanistan and returning power to the people.
The group said its forces would conduct operations in accordance with the “principles of Fiqh al-Jihad” and that members and leaders of the Taliban would be the primary targets of its attacks. At the same time, it pledged to comply with international laws governing armed conflict and warfare.
The announcement comes amid an apparent increase in armed activities by anti-Taliban groups across Afghanistan.
A day after announcing the start of its military campaign, the Afghanistan United Front claimed responsibility for what it described as its third attack, saying two Taliban members were killed in Badghis province.
In a post published on X on Sunday (August 2), the group alleged that the two individuals had been involved in the torture of former Afghan security personnel.
The United Front did not provide further details about the time or exact location of the alleged attack, and its claims could not be independently verified.
The group also released images on X that it said showed two earlier operations carried out after the launch of Operation Muharib.
According to the group, one attack took place along the Kandahar–Spin Boldak highway in Kandahar province, while another was conducted in the Lashkari Bazaar area of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province. However, it did not disclose additional operational details about either incident.
The Taliban has not yet publicly responded to the Afghanistan United Front’s latest claims.
Last week, the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) claimed that its fighters killed at least 21 Taliban members and wounded 37 others during clashes in Zebak district of Badakhshan. The group said the fighting marked a “new phase” in its campaign against the Taliban.
Meanwhile, earlier, a newly formed anti-Taliban group known as Sepahian-e Mihan, or Soldiers of the Homeland, briefly seized control of Yaftal-e Payeen district. The incident marked the first reported temporary loss of a district by the Taliban since it returned to power in 2021.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, multiple opposition armed groups were formed, with many still actively fighting in various provinces. The NRF and AFF, largely composed of former members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, have been particularly active in Kabul city, Panjshir province, and the northern regions of the country.
They have carried out guerrilla-style operations against the Taliban and claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks in recent years, saying they have killed and wounded hundreds of Taliban members across the country.
While the Taliban generally downplays the activities of such opposition groups and rarely provides detailed comments on individual attacks, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) regularly tracks and reports security incidents involving anti-Taliban groups in its quarterly updates to the U.N. Security Council.
