KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) and the Afghanistan National Independence Front (NIF) have both claimed responsibility for an attack on the military section of Kabul Airport on Thursday night (August 6).
The Afghanistan Freedom Front said in a statement that it carried out an attack on the airport’s military facilities at around 8:30 p.m., claiming that the assault caused “heavy damage” to Taliban military installations.
The group also claimed that an unspecified number of Taliban members were killed or wounded in the attack, but did not provide further details.
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan National Independence Front separately claimed responsibility for an attack at the same time and location. The group said its forces launched a rocket attack against Taliban military positions at Kabul Airport at around 8:30 p.m.
The group claimed that its fighters fired four rockets at the Taliban positions, resulting in the deaths of more than 10 Taliban members and injuries to dozens of others.
Neither group has clarified whether they carried out separate attacks on Kabul Airport at the same time or whether both groups are claiming responsibility for the same incident.
The Taliban has not yet commented on the claims.
The claims come as anti-Taliban armed groups have reported a series of attacks against Taliban personnel and positions in recent days.
The Afghanistan United Front said its forces killed a Taliban official from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in an attack in the Ain-o-Mina Park area of Kandahar city on Friday night (August 7). The group said the official was among those it had targeted over alleged mistreatment of young people in the province.
Separately, the Afghanistan Freedom Front claimed that its forces killed two Taliban intelligence personnel in an attack in Gurziwan district of Faryab province on Friday night. The group said the two were close associates of Mullah Abdul Karim, a Taliban commander.
Taliban authorities have not yet commented on the claims.
The latest reported attacks come amid a recent increase in operations by anti-Taliban armed groups across Afghanistan. Over the past week, these groups have claimed more than 15 attacks in different parts of the country, saying the operations killed or wounded dozens of Taliban members, including commanders.
Earlier this month, the newly formed anti-Taliban group Sepahian-e Mihan (Soldiers of the Homeland) claimed it had briefly taken control of Yaftal-e Payen district in Badakhshan. The incident was the first reported seizure of a district by an anti-Taliban group since the Taliban returned to power nearly five years ago. The Taliban confirmed the incident and responded by deploying additional forces and expanding security operations in the area.
