Anti-Taliban Clashes Intensify in Northeastern Afghanistan

DID Press: Fighting between the Taliban and anti-Taliban forces has intensified in northeastern Afghanistan, with local sources reporting a rocket attack on a Taliban checkpoint in Baghlan Province and new allegations that Taliban forces have planted landmines around military positions in Badakhshan amid ongoing clashes.

Local sources said several rockets were fired late Saturday at a Taliban checkpoint in the Kaseh Tarash area of Andarab District, Baghlan Province. The attack was followed by several hours of fighting. No independent information on casualties or damage was immediately available.

The reported assault follows a recent series of operations claimed by anti-Taliban groups in northeastern Afghanistan. Earlier, the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) said it had targeted a Taliban military convoy on the Kabul–Badakhshan highway with rockets, claiming to have killed seven Taliban members and wounded six others. The Taliban has not commented on either claim.

In Badakhshan Province, local sources said Taliban forces planted landmines on routes leading to their checkpoints in Zebak District after several days of fighting with the Afghanistan Freedom Front. According to the sources, the explosives were positioned near frontline areas to impede the advance of opposition fighters.

Experts cited by the sources warned that the placement of unmarked landmines, if confirmed, could constitute a violation of international humanitarian law because of the risks posed to both combatants and civilians.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front previously claimed it had captured several Taliban positions near a border battalion in Zebak, alleging that 21 Taliban members, including several commanders, were killed and 37 others wounded. The Taliban has acknowledged the deaths of five attackers but has not commented on the casualty figures reported by the opposition.

Meanwhile, Sarah Adams, a former officer with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), said recent battlefield gains by anti-Taliban forces demonstrate that Afghans have not accepted what she described as “Taliban terrorist rule.” She argued that the opposition’s campaign serves “the interests of the entire world,” alleging that Afghanistan has become a major safe haven for terrorist organizations under Taliban rule.

Adams also called on the international community to end political and financial support for the Taliban and instead back anti-Taliban resistance groups. She claimed that sustained military pressure inside Afghanistan could reduce the Taliban’s ability to support transnational militant networks.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front further claimed on Saturday that it had shot down two Taliban military drones in Zebak and prevented Taliban forces from advancing. The Taliban has not responded to the allegation.