Al-Qaeda Remains In Afghanistan & Maintains Taliban Ties, Says UN Official

Fitrat travelled from Kabul to Yaftal district in Badakhshan and is leading operations against the armed attackers. He claimed that the assault had been foiled and that the attackers had failed to achieve their objectives.

The Taliban army chief said on Friday that the group had learned early that morning of a plan by armed attackers to target Yaftali Sufla district.

He said the Taliban had received information that the “enemy” planned to create unrest in Yaftal. Fitrat added that he had travelled from Kabul to Badakhshan after receiving the information and ordered Taliban forces to respond.

According to him, the Taliban prevented the attackers from reaching their objectives and disrupted their plan.

Fitrat described the attackers as corrupt and rioters and claimed that most of them had been detained. He told the media that the remaining individuals were being pursued.

However, he provided no evidence to support the claim.

Fitrat also insisted that the security situation in Badakhshan remained under Taliban control and said the group would confront any action by armed opponents.

The newly formed Sepahiyan-e Mihan (Patriotic Soldiers Front) claimed responsibility for Friday morning’s attack on Yaftali Sufla district and said its forces had controlled the district administration building for several hours.

Local sources confirmed that the district headquarters had temporarily fallen out of Taliban control.

Sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban sent reinforcements from Faizabad to Yaftal after the attack and launched extensive house-to-house searches.

According to the sources, several local residents and some local Taliban members were detained during the operation.

Yaftali Sufla is located near Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province. The temporary seizure of its district centre by armed opponents poses a serious challenge to Taliban claims of having complete control over security in the province.

In recent years, most attacks by anti-Taliban groups in Badakhshan were concentrated in mountainous and border districts, particularly the Darwaz region.

However, the latest attack on Yaftali Sufla shows that opposition activity has expanded to the outskirts of the provincial capital, potentially indicating a shift in the pattern of armed operations in Badakhshan.

In a statement on Friday, the Taliban police command said its forces arrived at the scene after the attack on Yaftali Sufla district.

The Taliban said the attackers left the area after the assault and that a search operation was under way. According to the command, several people had been arrested in connection with the incident.

The Taliban did not provide details about the identities of those detained. However, local sources told Afghanistan International that several residents had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack.

Taliban activists published images of the detainees on social media.

According to the sources, the attackers entered the district administration building, took some military equipment, weapons and government vehicles, and left when Taliban reinforcements arrived.

Local sources said the Taliban launched house-to-house searches in Yaftali Sufla after the attack and detained several residents. The detainees reportedly include civilians as well as some local Taliban members.

Meanwhile, reinforcement Taliban forces were sent from Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, to Yaftali Sufla district.

Some sources also claimed that senior Taliban figures had travelled from Kabul to Badakhshan to assess the province’s security situation.

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.

Saleh has also worked in Ghana and Eritrea and contributed to the development of UNICEF’s first programme for South Africa following the end of apartheid

UNDP is the United Nations’ main development agency and operates in about 170 countries. Its goals include reducing poverty, creating economic opportunities, strengthening public services, preparing for crises and addressing the effects of climate change.

Since the Taliban returned to power, the agency has focused its work in Afghanistan on providing direct assistance to communities and preventing the collapse of local economies.

Its programmes in Afghanistan include creating employment opportunities, providing vocational training, supporting farmers and constructing water canals, greenhouses and small-scale local infrastructure.

The sources told Afghanistan International that the attackers took control of the district administration building, police headquarters and intelligence office for several hours and raised their flag over the district compound.

After taking control, the assailants disarmed Taliban forces, seized military equipment and government vehicles, and then left the area, according to local sources.

Residents said the attackers held the district for several hours.

Local sources said the assault began early on Friday, when between 20 and 25 armed men stormed the Yaftali Sufla district compound. After a brief clash, they took control of the site.

Some sources also claimed that the attackers took several Taliban members with them. Afghanistan International has not independently verified this claim.

No details are currently available about possible casualties.

Local sources said a group calling itself the Patriotic Soldiers Front organised the attack.

Following the assault, the Taliban sent reinforcements from Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, to Yaftali Sufla. Sources said Taliban helicopters were also patrolling over the district and security measures had been tightened.

Yaftali Sufla is located near Faizabad and is regarded as one of Badakhshan’s important and strategically significant districts. Its residents have long played a notable role in the province’s political developments and local power structures.

The incident comes as Badakhshan has become one of Afghanistan’s most unstable provinces in recent months.

Alongside the activities of armed groups opposed to the Taliban, the province has witnessed local tensions, disputes between local Taliban commanders and forces deployed from other provinces, and conflicts over the control of mines and revenue sources, including drug cultivation and trafficking.

Local sources have also reported growing public dissatisfaction with the large presence of Taliban forces from outside Badakhshan, which they say has further complicated the province’s security situation.