The National Resistance Front claims it has inflicted “irreparable” casualties on the Taliban as a result of several attacks on Taliban bases in Panjshir since Friday. The Taliban, however, deny the conflict in Panjshir and Takhar. Sebghatullah Ahmadi, spokesman for the National Resistance Front has said that 22 Taliban fighters were killed and six others detained. On the other hand, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denies the reports of clashes in Panjshir and Takhar.
Local sources have confirmed the clashes between the Resistance Front forces and the Taliban in the Dara and Abshar districts of Panjshir province. The residents have further claimed that the Taliban have taken away a number of local elders as hostage. Taliban have arrested them after the attacks on charges of supporting NRF and to force NRF forces to surrender.
According to locals, the clashes in Panjshir have inflicted casualties on both sides, including the National Resistance Front. Two people have been reported killed in the Abdullah Khail Valley. According to residents, the forces of the Resistance Front left the area after carrying out their attacks. According to local residents, the Taliban have deployed more troops in these areas.
Clashes have also been reported in Shutle, Hesa-e-Awal and Khenj districts. The so-called Azadegan (liberation fighters) Front have claimed of targeting a Taliban aid convoy in Kuhdaman area.
Sebghatullah Ahmadi has declared the reaons behind the clashes in Panjshir as the Taliban wanted to arrest elders and residents of the province for not celebrating Eid on the bases of Taliban’s Eid declaration.
Following the Eid al-Fitr event, the National Resistance Front and anti-Taliban fronts announced the expansion of their sphere of influence against the group. The spokesperson of the National Resistance Front has said that the operation to liberate Panjshir has started across the province under the command of Khalid Amiri, one of the famous commanders of the former security forces. Earlier, it was reported that in the Versaj district of Takhar, Khost and Andrab of Baghlan, some areas of Badakhshan, and Paktia provinces, the freedom fighters attacked on Taliban’s bases.
Sebghatullah Ahmadi, in a newsletter has claimed that as a result of the “ambush” of the forces of the National Resistance Front, the “red battalion of the Taliban” in Panjshir have suffered “heavy” casualties. He has furhter added that the attack took place when the unit was moving towards Abdullah Khail Valley and Abshar districts for lauching house-to-house search operation. Sebghatullah Ahmadi said that as a result of the attack by the Resistance Front forces, all areas of Abdullah Khail Valley and Abshar districts, except their centers, had fallen into the control of the National Resistance Front. Local sources have confirmed that forces of the National Resistance Front have left the area.
Ali Maisam Nazari, a spokesperson of the NRF led by Ahmad Massoud, tweeted that the operation to liberate Panjshir had begun. “Tonight, Hindu Kush lions under the command of Khalid Amiri have launched an operation across Panjshir,” he tweeted. “The freedom sunrise is on the way.”
In recent days, fighting between the Taliban and the National Resistance Front in the Versaj, Takhar, Andrab and Khost districts of Baghlan have attracted attentions. Earlier, the National Resistance Front reported the capture of 10 villages in Takhar’s Versaj district. It is reported that the village is divided between the two sides.
As the war fronts heat up, the Taliban have deployed 300 of their reserved forces to Badakhshan. These newly-deployed forces are residents of the southern and eastern provinces of the country. The Andarabs have long been considered as a battlefield between the Taliban and the National Resistance Front.
The National Liberation Front, another armed group fighting the Taliban has claimed of killing the Taliban intelligence chief for western Kabul in the Bagh Dawood area of Kabul’s fifth district. The Taliban’s intelligence chief, killed was named Mullah Hafizullah Badr and he was accused of organizing suicide attacks.
The Liberation Front has reported attacks on Taliban bases in Ahmadabad district of Paktia province. According to the front, five Taliban are killed in the attacks. Taliban’s Criminal Head for Baghlan was killed two days ago in the Tala-Wa-Barfak district of Baghlan province.
However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirms the deployment of new forces in Badakhshan and Takhar provinces, but rejects the clashes and attacks on Taliban by any armed group. “The claims are not true,” Mujahid said.
According to the ACLED, more than six active fronts have been formed against the Taliban. One of these groups is the “Freedom Tigers of Turkestan”, also known as the “Wolf of Jawzjan”. The group has recently carried out an attack on the Taliban’s base in the city of Sheberghan. There is also a group called the “Afghan Freedom Front” in northern Afghanistan. The front has reportedly carried out attacks against the Taliban in the north and south of the country.
A movement called the “Afghan Liberation Movement” led by the Pashtuns has emerged to fight the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan. The emergence of this group has been described as a major development as the armed resistance against the Taliban has been led mainly by non-Pashtuns so far.
The most important of these fronts is the National Resistance Front led by Ahmad Massoud. The front recently held an advisory meeting to form its Supreme Council.
[highlight color=”gray”]Hasht-e Subh[/highlight]
