Guess what? The spring offensive season begins in Afghanistan with anti-Taliban groups launching attacks against the group in succession. On Thursday night, the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) claimed that in an attack on the Taliban security command in Kabul, two Taliban fighters had been killed and another was injured.
Go deeper:
- AFF announced through a video posted on its Twitter account that the attack took place at 6:10 pm on Thursday night at the entrance of the Taliban security command in Kabul.
- Its forces targeted the Taliban with rockets and grenades.
- Taliban sources have not yet confirmed the incident and the casualties left from Thursday night’s attack.
- The AFF attack takes place a day after the National Resistance Front (NRF) led by Ahmad Massoud claimed that the group attacked the “training center and outposts of the Taliban’s Special Forces” in Pule Charkhi area of Kabul.
- On Wednesday, the NRF announced that as part of their new year’s strategy they have begun conducting guerrilla operations against the Taliban. The NRF’s announcement was welcomed by the AFF which said that the group is ready to conduct joint operations against the Taliban.
- However, Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat, Taliban’s Chief of Staff of Army in an interview on Thursday had said there will be no armed resistance by the former military and exiled Afghan leaders against the Taliban. Taliban Chief of Staff of Army described the exiled Afghan leaders’ claims as “boastful” and even threatened them with military repression.
Take note of the modus operandi of AFF which involves hand grenades and improvised explosive devise (IEDs), targeted killings, and other guerrilla-based tactics.
- The group has claimed attacks on Taliban targets in several provinces, from Badakhshan in the north to Kandahar in the south, offering as proof night-time videos of fighting.
- It’s last attack had been on March 26 when it targeted a Taliban base located at the entrance to Mazar-e-Sharif municipality, the capital of Balkh province, and killed two Taliban fighters.
- Before that, on March 11, AFF members targeted a Taliban checkpoint in Spin Kaley area in PD5 Kabul city and killed 3 Taliban militants.
- Fighters from Afghanistan Freedom Front had also launched an attack against the Taliban in PD4, Taloqan city, on March 5, injuring 3 armed Taliban members.
- Other attacks include an attack on a Taliban checkpoint in Kabul on March 1 which killed Taliban members and most of their attacks included grenades and IEDs.
- Over the past year since their inception, the group claims to have conducted 109 operations which eliminated 364 Taliban members and wounded another 364 of them.
Zoom out: The Afghanistan Freedom Front had declared their formation in March 2022 and have since carried out attacks on Taliban forces in the northern provinces of Takhar, Kapisa, Badakhshan and Parwan.
- This group announced its launch on Twitter and Facebook with the goal of “fighting for freedom of the country from occupation.”
- It has not disclosed its leadership, but recent reports have indicated that General Yasin Zia, a former acting defense minister and chief of staffy of army, is one of the Front’s leaders.
- Even though the front is relatively new and it yet to see a sizable number to its tally, its attack pattern has been consistent through the past year and is proving to be a major opposition to the Taliban along with the NRF. With it welcoming the NRF’s spring operations this year and offering it its full support, it remains to be seen how the Taliban is planning to tackle this growing resistance against its current rule.
