The Afghanistan Freedom Front said it targeted a vehicle carrying Taliban Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice personnel in Kabul on Monday evening.
The group claimed that two Taliban members were killed and two others wounded in the attack.
According to the group, the attack took place at around 8:20pm local time in Kabul’s 12th police district, in the National Directorate of Security residential township.
The Taliban have not commented on the claim, and Afghanistan International has been unable to independently verify the details of the incident or the reported casualty figures.
In its statement, the Afghanistan Freedom Front described the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice as one of the main institutions responsible for enforcing social restrictions in Afghanistan and said it monitors the activities of the ministry’s personnel.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front is one of several armed groups opposed to the Taliban and has claimed responsibility for dozens of guerrilla attacks against Taliban forces and officials since the group returned to power.
A cross-party group of European and former Afghan lawmakers urged the European Union and its member states Tuesday not to host Taliban representatives for migration or deportation talks. They warned that official meetings would help legitimize the group’s rule in Afghanistan.
The appeal came after Belgium issued one-day visas to five members of a Taliban delegation expected to attend a European Union meeting on migration in Brussels.
A spokesperson for Belgium’s Foreign Ministry said the visas have limited territorial and temporal validity, allowing the delegation to remain only in Belgium and for a single day. Two European officials said the visas were valid Tuesday, June 23.
The Belgian ministry has not disclosed the meeting’s location or precise timing, citing security concerns.
In an open letter, members of the European Parliament, German federal lawmakers and former members of Afghanistan’s parliament said that issuing visas or holding official political meetings with Taliban representatives would send a signal of acceptance to a group that has sought international recognition since returning to power in August 2021.
“Every invitation, every visa and every official meeting sends a political signal,” said Hannah Neumann, a German member of the European Parliament from the Greens-European Free Alliance group.
“The Taliban are not seeking technical discussions, they are seeking legitimacy. The EU established clear benchmarks for engagement in 2021. Nearly five years later, none have been met. Instead, the Taliban have systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls and intensified political repression. Europe should not trade its principles for deportation deals,” Neumann said.
The European Commission has described the planned talks as technical and said they do not amount to recognition of the Taliban government. The meeting is expected to focus on the possible return or readmission of Afghan migrants who do not have a legal right to remain in the EU, particularly those considered security threats.
The planned visit would be the first time the European Union has hosted Taliban representatives since the group seized control of Afghanistan nearly five years ago.
Sources familiar with the arrangements previously told Afghanistan International that the delegation would be led by Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesperson for the Taliban Foreign Ministry, and would travel to Brussels from Türkiye.
The planned meeting has angered Afghan activists and human rights campaigners, who argue that deportees could face detention, persecution or other abuses after being returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Campaigners have also warned that hosting Taliban officials in a European capital could contribute to the gradual normalization of the group’s government.
Signatories to the letter include Neumann; Filiz Polat, a member of Germany’s Bundestag from the Alliance 90/The Greens party; Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle of Renew Europe, who chairs the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Afghanistan; and Alessandra Moretti of the Socialists and Democrats group, the delegation’s vice chair.
Former Afghan parliamentarian and women’s rights advocate Fawzia Koofi and members of the Afghan Parliamentary Network also signed the letter.
The signatories called on EU institutions and national governments to refrain from inviting Taliban representatives to Brussels or other European capitals and to reject arrangements linking deportation cooperation to political engagement.
They also urged European governments to maintain the benchmarks for engagement established by the EU in 2021 and to prioritize assistance for Afghan civil society organizations, women human rights defenders and people persecuted by the Taliban.
The letter was sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever.
Belgium has announced that it has issued one-day visas to a five-member Taliban delegation to attend a European Union meeting on migration in Brussels.
A spokesperson for Belgium’s Foreign Ministry said the visas carry limited territorial and temporal validity and are valid only in Belgium and for a single day.
Two European officials said the delegation had been granted one-day visas valid only on Tuesday, June 23.
Belgium’s Foreign Ministry has not disclosed the exact timing of the visit for security reasons.
Sources previously told Afghanistan International that the Taliban delegation, led by Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson for the group’s Foreign Ministry, would travel from Turkiye to Brussels on Tuesday.
The visit, described as a technical meeting focused on the return of Afghan migrants, marks the first time the European Union has hosted Taliban representatives since the group returned to power nearly five years ago. The move has angered human rights activists and prompted protests from Afghan campaigners.
Two sources within the Taliban’s Ministry of Defence have confirmed to Afghanistan International that the formation of a new 8,000-member special force known as the “Hibati Unit” is under way.
According to the sources, Russia is providing funding, training and military equipment for the force.
The sources said one of the unit’s key missions will be conducting operations against the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP aka ISIS-K).
According to information received by Afghanistan International, the special force was established on the orders of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and will be responsible for securing Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. The unit is also tasked with countering ISKP activities and preventing members of the group from entering Afghanistan.
Available information suggests that the force will operate outside the Taliban’s formal security structures and will answer directly to Akhundzada. The Taliban’s ministries of defence and interior will have no authority over its operations.
Sources in Kandahar and Kabul said existing Taliban border posts will continue functioning, but final decisions on border-related matters will rest with the new unit.
According to the sources, around 4,000 members of the force are currently stationed in Zhari district of Kandahar, where recruitment and registration are continuing. Another 4,000 personnel are being organised and prepared in Kabul.
The sources added that members of the unit will receive higher salaries and benefits than other Taliban forces, with recruitment beginning at officer level rather than ordinary rank-and-file positions.
The force is also expected to be equipped with advanced weapons, night-vision technology, military vehicles, helicopters and surveillance drones. Members will receive training in border patrol operations, anti-smuggling missions and the use of advanced technologies.
Claims of Russian support for the force have not been officially confirmed.
However, three weeks ago Taliban Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid signed a military and technical cooperation agreement with Russia. Under the agreement, Russia pledged military and technical assistance to the Taliban, while the Taliban committed to containing threats posed by ISKP to Central Asian countries.
The formation of the unit comes at a time when relations between the Taliban and Pakistan have been highly strained for nearly eight months.
Asad Qaiser, a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has announced that a grand jirga will be held in July to discuss problems caused by the closure of border crossings with Afghanistan and ongoing trade challenges.
He said the gathering aims to identify ways to reopen trade routes between the two countries.
Speaking at a meeting with representatives of Pakistan’s chambers of commerce on Monday, Qaiser said the continued closure of border crossings with Afghanistan had inflicted significant damage on Pakistan’s economy, harming businesses and costing hundreds of thousands of jobs.
He said all key stakeholders from the trade and industrial sectors would attend the planned meeting to discuss sustainable solutions to the current problems.
Qaiser did not specify the exact date or location of the Jirga.
He stressed that Pakistan would continue to face economic difficulties and stagnation until trade routes with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries were fully reopened. He also called for political disputes to be separated from trade relations, arguing that ordinary people on both sides of the border should not bear the cost of political disagreements.
Meanwhile, officials from the Torkham Chamber of Commerce said the prolonged closure of border crossings had left around two million people unemployed and caused traders losses of nearly $278 million.
Jawad Shinwari, an Afghanistan International correspondent, reported that participants at the meeting said the closure of trade routes had affected around 50 percent of economic activity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Some traders have reportedly been forced to relocate their businesses to Lahore and other Pakistani cities.
Qaiser described the planned grand Jirga in July as an important step towards removing obstacles, expanding regional trade and reviving economic activity.
Border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan have remained largely closed for nearly eight months following military clashes and tensions between Pakistani forces and the Taliban, causing significant losses for traders and businesses on both sides of the border.
Sources told Afghanistan International on Monday that the Taliban arrested at least nine people in Kabul overnight for raising flags marking Muharram, one of the holiest months in the Shia Muslim calendar.
According to the sources, the arrests were carried out on the orders of Abdul Hakim Sharei, the Taliban’s justice minister. They said those detained are being held in a private detention facility operated by the minister within the Ministry of Justice compound.
Muharram, particularly its 10th day, Ashura, commemorates the seventh-century killing of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala. Millions of Shia Muslims around the world observe the occasion through mourning ceremonies, religious gatherings and public displays of black flags and banners.
One source said Taliban forces raided several Shia mosques and Hussainiyas, or Shia congregation halls, across Kabul, removing Muharram flags and decorations.
According to the sources, Taliban forces entered Imam Hussain Mujtaba Mosque in the Telegraph Station area, Mohammadi Mosque in Qala-e Shahada, Nabi Akram Mosque in Omid Sabz Township, Gulzar-e Shohada Hussainiya in Sarkariz, Hasnain Mosque in Karte Seh, Resalat Seminary and Afshari Mosque near the Ministry of Justice in district 18, 13 and 6 of Kabul.
The raids took place despite previous assurances from Taliban authorities, according to sources, that Muharram commemorations would be permitted under specific conditions following consultations with Shia religious leaders.
Following the incident, members of a committee coordinating Muharram ceremonies in Kabul reportedly met Taj Mir Jawad, deputy head of Taliban intelligence, and lodged a formal complaint.
Sources said Taj Mir Jawad told them that Shia communities could hold Muharram ceremonies in accordance with the previous agreement and asked organisers to provide the names of those detained so that steps could be taken towards their release.
No official response has yet been issued by the Ministry of Justice or other Taliban authorities.
Meanwhile, a resident of Mazar-e-Sharif told Afghanistan International that the Taliban had also detained at least three people in the city for taking part in Muharram mourning ceremonies.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have repeatedly imposed restrictions on Muharram observances and, in some cases, used force against Shia gatherings.
Earlier, Afghanistan’s Shia Ulema Council called on the Taliban administration to ensure the security of Muharram ceremonies across the country and to provide a peaceful environment free from restrictions for Ashura commemorations.