Tensions Escalate in Badakhshan as Opposition Group Claims Ambush on Foreign Taliban Fighters
DID Press: Afghanistan Freedom Front said it ambushed what it described as “foreign terrorists supporting the Taliban” along a road leading to Zebak district in northeastern Badakhshan, claiming that at least two foreign fighters were killed and three others wounded.
The group said the attack took place on Friday evening, Aug. 1, and that the targeted fighters were unfamiliar with the local language and had been preparing to join Taliban forces fighting the Freedom Front in Zebak.
The Freedom Front described the presence of foreign militant groups alongside the Taliban as evidence that Afghanistan under Taliban rule had become a “safe haven and breeding ground for international terrorism.” It did not identify the nationalities of the fighters.
The Taliban have not commented on the claim.Local sources had previously reported heavy clashes between the Taliban and opposition forces in Zebak. According to the sources, opposition fighters ambushed a Taliban convoy on Friday night in Sanglich village as it was heading toward the frontline.
The frontline between the two sides was reportedly located near Jahil-e Topkhana last week.In a separate development, sources affiliated with the United Front, led by former Afghan special forces commander Sami Sadat, said the group had begun armed operations against the Taliban from Kandahar province.
The group claimed its fighters attacked Taliban forces along the Kandahar–Spin Boldak road on July 30. The Taliban have neither confirmed nor denied the claim.The United Front, established in the United States in 2023, had previously focused mainly on political activities.
The reported attack would mark its first publicly reported armed action against the Taliban.Tensions have also risen in Badakhshan following protests by residents of Yaftal-e Payin district. Local sources said on Saturday that Taliban forces opened fire on protesters, causing casualties, although the exact number of dead and wounded remained unclear.
Residents said the protests began after Taliban forces allegedly subjected a woman to a body search in a Yaftal market. Protesters said the Taliban had intensified security measures in recent weeks, including arbitrary arrests, house-to-house searches and intimidation of local residents.
The pressure reportedly increased after Yaftal-e Payin briefly fell under the control of the newly formed Sipah-e Mihan group on July 17, with Taliban fighters reportedly disarmed.Protesters have called for the removal of “non-local Taliban” from Badakhshan. The province has witnessed increased attacks by anti-Taliban groups, internal Taliban tensions and activity by Islamic State Khorasan in recent weeks.
Four days earlier, Zabihullah Amiri, the Taliban’s head of information and culture in Badakhshan, was killed in an armed attack in Baharak district. Islamic State Khorasan claimed responsibility for the attack.