The newly formed armed group Sepahiyan-e Mihan briefly seized Yaftali Sufla district in Badakhshan, disarmed Taliban forces and used the attack to announce its existence publicly.
Sepahiyan-e Mihan (Patriotic Soldiers Front), or the Patriotic Soldiers, took control of the district for several hours in a surprise attack. Yaftali Sufla became the first district in Badakhshan to fall as the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power approaches.
Little information is available about the group. Local sources told Afghanistan International that it consists of people from different sections of society and residents of Badakhshan who came together in response to growing dissatisfaction with Taliban rule in the province.
According to the sources, its members include activists, some former security personnel and local residents. They are in contact and coordination with several former mujahideen commanders and political groups but have no organisational affiliation with any of them and describe themselves as an independent movement.
One member of the group told Afghanistan International that its main motivation was what he described as Taliban oppression and repression in Badakhshan.
He said they could no longer watch the Taliban continue to mistreat the people of Badakhshan and that their goal was to mobilise local communities to resist the group.
No information is currently available about the leader or commanders of Sepahiyan-e Mihan.
The armed group attacked the Yaftali Sufla district headquarters early on Friday and raised its flag over the building.
Sources said the group disarmed Taliban personnel and took military equipment with it.
After withdrawing from Yaftali Sufla, Sepahiyan-e Mihan displayed the weapons and military equipment it had seized.
Why Yaftali Sufla?
Sepahiyan-e Mihan carried out its first operation in Yaftali Sufla, an area near Faizabad that is considered more militarily vulnerable than some of Badakhshan’s mountainous districts.
Local observers believe the choice of district suggests that the group does not yet possess extensive military capacity or experience.
Although its fighters managed to seize the district building for several hours, they were forced to withdraw after the Taliban rapidly deployed reinforcements.
Some security sources also believe the group is composed more of local civilians than professional soldiers, with members taking up arms for political and patriotic reasons.
Badakhshan Emerges as Centre of Anti-Taliban Resistance
In recent years, Badakhshan has become one of the main centres of activity by armed groups opposed to the Taliban.
The National Resistance Front and the Afghanistan Freedom Front have repeatedly claimed attacks against Taliban forces in the province.
Those operations have mainly involved ambushes, guerrilla attacks and strikes on Taliban checkpoints, some of which have reportedly caused casualties among Taliban forces.
The emergence of Sepahiyan-e Mihan suggests that armed opposition in Badakhshan is expanding and that new actors are entering the conflict.
The group’s appearance comes amid rising tensions in the province, including disputes between local Taliban commanders and forces deployed from other provinces, rivalry over mines, social tensions and growing public dissatisfaction.
The Taliban also appear to be taking the situation seriously.
In recent weeks, Taliban Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob visited Badakhshan and toured several districts. The group has also created a new military unit in the province and deployed additional forces.
However, Sepahiyan-e Mihan’s attack and its temporary seizure of Yaftali Sufla showed that Badakhshan remains one of the Taliban’s most vulnerable provinces and that the likelihood of new opposition groups emerging there is increasing.
