KABUL : The Afghanistan United Front (AUF), led by former Afghan National Army Lieutenant General Sami Sadat, has announced a significant military operation against Taliban forces in the country’s northeastern Badakhshan province, marking a major escalation in organized armed resistance against the Taliban regime .
According to reports, the targeted operation resulted in the deaths of 11 Taliban militants, while AUF fighters also captured three Taliban officials alive . The attack is being described as another major development in the growing armed opposition movement against the Taliban’s five-year rule .
The operation comes as part of “Operation Muharib,” which Sadat officially launched in early August, declaring an end to dialogue and attempted negotiations with the Taliban . In his announcement, Sadat appeared in former Afghan military uniform with the tricolor flag of the former republic in the background, signaling a return to armed struggle .
Badakhshan has become a focal point of anti-Taliban resistance, with multiple groups—including the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) and the newly established Sepah-e Mihan (Homeland Army)—reportedly engaged in clashes with Taliban forces in recent weeks . The province, which borders Tajikistan, China, and Pakistan, has traditionally been a bastion of anti-Taliban resistance and continues to experience simmering ethnic tensions and local grievances .
The Taliban have acknowledged clashes only in parts of Badakhshan while rejecting claims that opposition fighters seized any of their outposts . Taliban governor Mohammad Ismail Ghaznawi dismissed the armed opposition as incapable of undermining Taliban rule .
