21 Taliban Fighters Killed In Badakhshan Clashes, Says AFF

Naji confirmed that the Afghanistan Freedom Front had launched attacks against Taliban forces in Zebak district of Badakhshan.

Writing on X on Friday, Naji said the decisive battle for liberation has entered a new phase. A battle whose end will be freedom, with the people of Afghanistan as the true winners.

Sources had told Afghanistan International that anti-Taliban forces attacked several Taliban posts in Zebak district.

The fighting began on Thursday, and sources confirmed on Friday that clashes between the two sides were continuing.

Taliban officials confirmed the opposition attack and said at least five opposition fighters had been killed.

Naji said full details of the clashes between the Afghanistan Freedom Front and Taliban forces in Badakhshan would soon be released in an official statement.

Some sources said three local Taliban commanders had also been killed in the fighting. The Taliban has not provided any information about casualties among its own forces.

Taliban officials said the clashes involved forces from the 15th Border Brigade but gave no details about casualties among their own ranks.

Officials told Hurriyat Radio, a Taliban-affiliated outlet, that the opposition fighters had allegedly intended to enter Badakhshan from Pakistan to carry out destructive activities.

Taliban sources also claimed that the fighters had bases in Pakistan’s Chitral region and planned to enter Zebak district of Badakhshan through the Shah Salim route.

The sources rejected reports that Mullah Abdul Jamil Rahmani, commander of the Taliban’s 15th Border Brigade, had been killed, saying he was alive and well.

No group or movement has so far claimed responsibility for the attack on Taliban forces.

Sources say both Taliban forces and the attackers suffered casualties in the fighting.

Sources told Afghanistan International on Friday that clashes were still continuing in the Topkhana area of Zebak district in Badakhshan. The fighting began around midday on Thursday.

According to the sources, the Taliban launched a large-scale assault last night to recapture positions in the Topkhana area of Zebak district, but the attack was repelled by opposition forces.

Anti-Taliban fighters had earlier attacked several Taliban posts in the Topkhana area and, according to the sources, seized several positions. The Taliban then launched a clearing operation.

The sources said dozens of anti-Taliban fighters are involved in the clashes. No group or movement has officially claimed responsibility for the attack.

Sources said three local Taliban commanders were killed in the fighting.

Faridullah Wahdat, commander of one of the Taliban’s border post units, was among those killed. Afghanistan International has also received an image of his body.

At the same time, sources said the anti-Taliban forces also suffered casualties, although no details are available about their losses.

The Taliban has not yet commented on casualties among its forces or on the continuing clashes in Zebak district.

The fighting in the Topkhana area began around midday on Thursday. Sources had earlier told Afghanistan International that anti-Taliban forces attacked several Taliban posts and that the group sent a large number of reinforcements to the area.

The Taliban deployed commandos by helicopter and sent additional forces overland to the site of the clashes. Sources said some wounded Taliban fighters were flown by helicopter to Faizabad city.

Sources said the Taliban shut down telecommunications towers in the area after opposition forces attacked its positions.

Unlike previous sporadic clashes, forces from both sides are now directly engaged on several fronts. Sources say anti-Taliban fighters are positioned in the highlands of Zebak district.

The fighting comes days after the newly formed Sepah-e Mihan Front attacked Yaftali Sufla district in Badakhshan.

On 17 July, fighters from the front briefly took control of the district administration building, police headquarters and Taliban intelligence office in Yaftal, and raised their flag over the district administration building.

The fighting began on Thursday evening and was continuing at the time of reporting.

Taliban officials have not commented on the clashes or the reported death of the commander.

Afghanistan International has obtained a photograph of the body of Faridullah Wahdat, who sources identified as the commander of one of the Taliban’s border outposts in Badakhshan.

According to the sources, the fighting erupted on Thursday evening in the Tupkhana area of Zebak district, near the border with Pakistan, and was still under way.

The sources said anti-Taliban fighters attacked Taliban positions in the Tupkhana area. The exact number of casualties remains unclear, although one source said Taliban forces had suffered losses.

According to the sources, unlike previous sporadic clashes, the latest fighting has involved direct engagements on several fronts, with exchanges of fire continuing.

It remains unclear which armed group carried out the attack. However, local sources said anti-Taliban fighters are present in the mountainous areas of Zebak district.

Both sides have reportedly deployed additional forces to reinforce their positions.

The clashes in Zebak come days after the newly formed Sepahiyan-e Mihan (Patriotic Soldiers Front) briefly seized the district centre of Yaftali Sufla in Badakhshan. On 17 July, the group temporarily captured the district governor’s office, police headquarters and Taliban intelligence office before withdrawing after several hours, raising its flag over the district administration building during the operation.

The Pakistani military on Thursday, 23 July, described Amnesty International’s report as baseless.

Amnesty International said on Wednesday that a Pakistani air strike on the Omid Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre in Kabul on 16 March 2026, which killed at least 269 civilians, should be investigated as a possible war crime.

The organisation said it had found no evidence supporting the Pakistani military’s claim that the centre was being used to store weapons, ammunition or for other military purposes.

Pakistan Rejects Amnesty’s Findings and Questions UNAMA’s Access

The Pakistani military questioned the credibility of investigations conducted by Amnesty International and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

It said claims that a 2,000-bed facility containing more than 4,000 patients, attendants and staff had been struck were inconsistent with conditions on the ground.

The military told Afghanistan International that if an incident of such scale and with such a high casualty toll had taken place, hundreds of videos and images should have emerged from patients and residents using mobile phones or CCTV cameras.

It said the absence of even a single piece of footage or image from the site was the strongest evidence against Amnesty International’s account.

The military also argued that Amnesty International’s review of only 60 photographs and 11 interviews was statistically unreliable for a facility of that size.

It further said Amnesty International’s report relied on UNAMA findings, while claiming that UNAMA’s work had been severely restricted by Taliban-imposed limitations.

Pakistan Accuses Amnesty’s South Asia Office of Indian Influence

The Pakistani military described Isabelle Lassee’s role as acting deputy regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International as a deceptive manoeuvre and alleged that the office was effectively led by Smriti Singh, an Indian national.

Amnesty International has not responded to the allegation.

The Pakistani military alleged that Singh had previously worked with media linked to Indian intelligence and, because of what it described as ties to networks connected to India’s Defence Ministry, used Lassee’s name to publish a commissioned report against Pakistan.

Pakistan accused staff at Amnesty International’s South Asia office of favouring the Indian government’s narrative and said the organisation was whitewashing Taliban bias and crimes.

Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s Acting Regional Director for South Asia, said in a statement that Pakistan’s attack on the treatment facility in Kabul constituted a serious violation of international humanitarian law and called on Pakistan to carry out a transparent, independent and impartial investigation and make the findings public.

She said: “The attack on the Omid Centre constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law – possibly amounting to a war crime”. She added that because the site had been known as a medical facility for more than a decade, the strike pointed to a serious failure in Pakistan’s military planning that resulted in significant civilian deaths.

Pakistan Foreign Ministry Responds

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said at a press briefing on Thursday, 23 July, that no responsible state can remain indifferent to the continued targeting of its civilians and security forces.

Andrabi said all Pakistani military operations carried out in self-defence had been based on necessity and used only as a last resort.

He said the strikes had been directed solely and exclusively at terrorists and their support bases inside Afghanistan.

The spokesman said Pakistan’s response had been proportionate to the level of threat and that the principles of distinction, precaution and proportionality had been carefully observed.

Andrabi urged Amnesty International and the international community to focus their scrutiny on what he described as the Taliban regime’s continued support for terrorist groups.

He said Islamabad wanted the international community to hold the Taliban accountable for failing to meet its obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the Doha Agreement and other commitments to prevent Afghan territory from being used as a base for terrorism.

He added that Pakistan reserved the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the security and safety of its citizens.