ISLAMABAD: Multiple armed opposition factions operating across Afghanistan reported combat operations against Taliban targets over the weekend, with conflicting accounts of casualties that remain unverified by independent sources.
The Afghanistan United Front said it struck Taliban military positions in two separate provinces in recent days, local news outlets reported. In Helmand, located in the country's southern region, the group reported it attacked a Taliban checkpoint in the Nozad district.
The United Front claimed it killed six Taliban personnel and seized five rifles and ammunition.
It also claimed a nighttime operation against Taliban police facilities in Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province in the eastern region, which resulted in two additional casualties, according to 8AM Media.
Meanwhile, another anti-Taliban armed group, the National Resistance Front, reported separate losses. Two of its battlefield commanders, Shamsuddin and Baba, were killed during a Taliban ambush in the Charsai area of Baghlan province in the north, as reported by the National Resistance Front on X.
The commanders had served in resistance operations against Taliban rule since 2020.
The interim Taliban authorities, which returned to power in August 2021 after the withdrawal of US troops, released their own account of the Baghlan engagement. It claimed that four resistance fighters were killed in the operation.
No independent verification exists for any of the reported figures.
Major opposition networks
According to the European Union Council for Asylum, the National Resistance Front focuses on guerrilla campaigns in northern and northeastern provinces including Panjshir, Baghlan, Badakhshan, Herat, and the capital, Kabul.
The Afghanistan United Front is led by former Special Operations Corps Commander General Sami Sadat. The group has carried out targeted strikes across six provinces under "Operation Muharib," according to its website.
A third group, the Afghanistan Freedom Front, is led by Gen Yasin Zia. It carries out urban bomb strikes and checkpoint raids in provinces including Ghazni, Kabul, Badakhshan, and Kandahar, according to Afghanistan International.
Regional and ethnic militias
Smaller regional militias also maintain active cells. The Andarab Resistance Front operates in the Andarab district of Baghlan province, while the National Liberation Front of Afghanistan executes localized hit-and-run operations, as reported by the European Union Council for Asylum.
Other ethnic-based groups include the Turkestan Freedom Tigers, representing Uzbeks and Turkmen and the Unknown Soldiers of Hazaristan or Freedom and Democracy Front, representing Hazaras, who belong to the Shia sect.
The Afghanistan Liberation Movement, led by Abdul Matin Sulaimankhel, operates across eastern and southern corridors, according to the European Union Council for Asylum.
Transnational rivalries
Transnational extremist networks also oppose the Taliban on ideological grounds. Daesh’s Khorasan faction carries out suicide bombings and assassinations against Taliban personnel.
Portions of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan have pledged alignment with Daesh networks in northern Afghanistan, according to the European Union Council for Asylum.