Local sources told Afghanistan International on Friday, 14 August, that the Taliban had launched a large-scale operation against Juma Khan Fateh’s positions in Nusay district, Badakhshan, with fierce fighting under way.
According to the sources, Taliban forces attacked Fateh’s positions with additional troops and equipment.
The operation began after four days of fighting between Taliban forces and fighters under Fateh’s command. In recent days, the Taliban had deployed additional forces from Kabul and several other provinces to Badakhshan and reinforced its positions in the area.
Taliban helicopters have also been flying over Nusay since Friday morning, striking positions held by Fateh’s forces. Sources said fighting was taking place at several locations across the district.
Meanwhile, the Taliban have continued search operations and arrests of local residents in parts of the Darwaz region.
Taliban officials have not yet publicly commented on the launch or scope of the operation.
Sources told Afghanistan International that senior Taliban leaders in Kabul are divided over the fighting in Nusay, Badakhshan, amid criticism of the group's deputy chief of intelligence Tajmir Jawad’s handling of the operation.
A reliable source said the Taliban’s defence and interior ministers and intelligence chief were dissatisfied with the actions of Tajmir Jawad, deputy head of the Taliban intelligence agency. According to the source, Jawad moved to disarm Juma Khan Fateh without coordinating with the Taliban’s security institutions, triggering widespread clashes, serious challenges and casualties.
The source said Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, the Taliban’s defence minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister, and Abdul Haq Wasiq, the director-general of intelligence, were unhappy with Jawad’s actions.
According to the source, around 300 Badri special forces were deployed to the area on Jawad’s orders on Tuesday, without coordination or consultation with the defence minister, intelligence chief or interior minister. Their mission was to disarm individuals deemed “undesirable” and armed local ethnic Tajik Taliban fighters.
The source said the Badri forces attempted to disarm fighters under Juma Khan Fateh’s command, but his men resisted the operation and fought back against the Taliban forces.
Heavy Casualties Among Badri Forces
Sources said a number of Badri fighters were killed or seriously wounded during four days of clashes. They attributed the heavy casualties to the deployed forces’ unfamiliarity with the area and lack of knowledge about local conditions and complexities.
According to the sources, Fateh sent a message to Taliban army chief Fasihuddin Fitrat and Defence Minister Yaqub Mujahid, asking whether Jawad’s order for the operation had been issued with their knowledge and approval. The sources said both replied that they had been unaware of the move.
Taliban Concerned Over Wider Spread of Attacks
The source said the Taliban now regard the confrontation as a decisive “test case” that could influence future decisions and even the group’s fate.
According to the source, if Fateh is killed or captured, the Taliban may be able to maintain control of the situation, but failure of the operation would deal a major blow to the group.
The source also warned that the recent fighting in Badakhshan could become the starting point for the emergence of a broader anti-Taliban front in other parts of Afghanistan.
Juma Khan Fateh is a disgruntled Taliban commander. Tensions between him and the Taliban administration intensified in recent months after the Taliban governor of Badakhshan detained several people close to him in connection with mining activities.
On Thursday, Fateh said in a message addressed to Taliban army chief Fitrat that his forces had no dispute with the Taliban administration itself and opposed only the forces deployed to the area. He accused those forces of entering people’s homes and opening fire, causing civilian casualties.
The local Taliban commander also said the deployment of forces to Darwaz and Yaftal districts, despite earlier assurances that there was no problem, had led to the establishment of security posts and increased tensions. He claimed the forces had carried out house-to-house searches and entered residents’ private homes. Fateh also said the deployed forces had seized several armoured vehicles.
Fighting Intensifies in Nusay
Taliban helicopters bombed positions held by Fateh’s fighters near the centre of Nusay district over the past two days.
Fateh’s fighters also shot down a Taliban helicopter in the district centre on Thursday. The Taliban confirmed the incident.
Local sources said both the deployed Taliban forces and Fateh’s fighters had suffered casualties, but no precise figures for the dead and wounded have yet been released.
Tajikistan Protests to Taliban
Tajik media reported that a Tajik woman was killed by gunfire from Afghan territory during the fighting in Nusay, Badakhshan, in the border region of Darvoz. Reports said the woman was pregnant.
Nusay district borders Tajikistan’s Darvoz region, which has been affected by the heavy fighting across the frontier.
Following the incident, Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry sent a formal protest note to the Taliban administration over what it described as a violation of the country’s airspace, damage to residential homes and the death of a 21-year-old woman as a result of armed clashes inside Afghanistan.
The ministry strongly protested the consequences of the border fighting, saying the continuation of the situation seriously threatened Tajikistan’s sovereignty and the security of its border areas and constituted a clear violation of international law.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon also expressed sympathy and offered condolences to the family of the young woman killed by gunfire from Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says opposition groups are divided and pursue different goals, rejecting a political settlement with them and saying their return to power could take Afghanistan back to past conditions.
In an interview with Iraf, Mujahid described previous political arrangements as unsuccessful and said Taliban opponents had already been tested.
He said if they return to the scene and take a share of power, they will bring back the same conditions in Afghanistan that we have already experienced.
Mujahid added that if the opponents had not already been tested repeatedly, we might have hoped that they were part of Afghanistan, could serve the country, were genuinely connected to Afghanistan’s social issues and that we could hold talks and engage with them.
On the return of opponents to Afghanistan, Mujahid mentioned that the Taliban do not prevent anyone from returning to Afghanistan, but political participation is a different matter and, for now, it is not in Afghanistan’s interest.
Denial of Fighting in Badakhshan
In the interview, Mujahid denied reports of clashes in Badakhshan, saying Badakhshan is calm and the group has no problems there.
The interview was conducted before the fighting involving Juma Khan Fateh in Badakhshan and was published by Iraf on Thursday, 13 August.
Mujahid described previous reports about the dissident commander as enemy propaganda.
He said Juma Khan Fateh was one of the very prominent commanders of the Taliban administration in Badakhshan, adding that for a while, enemy propaganda was spread about him, but it was not true.
The Taliban spokesman also described the brief capture of Yaftal district by the Sepahiyan-e Mihan Front as a small threat, saying the situation had been brought under control within a few hours.
He claimed those who tried to create disorder were arrested.
Mujahid stressed that the Taliban administration was not facing any major threat anywhere in Afghanistan.
His comments describing reports about Juma Khan Fateh as enemy propaganda come as fighting between the dissident commander’s forces and the Taliban has been under way in Nusay district of Badakhshan for the past two days.
At the same time, opposition fronts have carried out repeated attacks in recent weeks, particularly in several districts of Badakhshan.
Without naming any specific country, Mujahid linked developments in Badakhshan to foreign intelligence services.
About Badakhshan he said that there were no protests there, and hands from outside were at work and were encouraging some young people to create unrest.
Tensions With Pakistan
Speaking about tensions with Islamabad, Mujahid said that currently a small military group is in power that has taken all of Pakistan’s interests’ hostage and wants Afghanistan to remain in tension as well.
He added that the Taliban administration does not want conflict with Pakistan and would not allow Afghan territory to be used against other countries.
Referring to clashes with Pakistan, Mujahid said that if they held talks, we also talked to them. If they made accusations, we responded to their accusations, and if they fought and violated Afghanistan’s territory, they received their response as well.
As fighting intensifies between Taliban forces and fighters loyal to Juma Khan Fateh in Badakhshan, local sources say scattered gunfire has been heard in the centre of Nusay district since Thursday morning.
At the same time, residents of Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province, reported seeing a large convoy of Taliban intelligence forces heading towards Badakhshan.
Reports indicate that additional Taliban reinforcements have also been sent to Badakhshan from Kunduz, Balkh and Kabul.
The continuing fighting has made life increasingly difficult for local residents. Reports say roads linking villages in Nusay with the district centre have been completely blocked because of the intensity of the clashes, preventing residents from travelling.
The fighting began on Tuesday evening, 11 August, after Taliban forces attacked positions held by Juma Khan Fateh, a dissident commander of the group, in Nusay district.
Following the attacks, Fateh released an audio message calling on his forces and residents to take up arms against the Taliban.
His dispute with the Taliban, where he previously served as deputy governor of Zabul before being removed, has intensified over mining activities in Badakhshan.
According to reports from the ground, heavy clashes have taken place in several areas of the district.
Forces loyal to Fateh have reportedly captured two Taliban outposts in the Doabi and Sarkoh areas. Shurian, Joy Dara and Shakh Dara, along with large parts of rural Nusay, have also reportedly fallen out of Taliban control, although the district centre remains in the group’s hands.
Both sides have suffered significant casualties in the fighting. Some sources told Afghanistan International that more than seven members of Taliban special forces had been killed and 11 others wounded.
On Fateh’s side, at least two people, including one of his fighters and a mine worker, have been killed and several others wounded.
Because of the growing number of casualties, the Taliban has taken control of all health centres and the district clinic in Nusay and removed civilian patients to treat its wounded fighters.
Taliban intelligence medical teams, accompanied by five ambulances and helicopters, are transporting the dead and wounded, while Faizabad hospital has been placed on alert.
As Taliban helicopters and drones continue flying over the area, the group has also cut Wi-Fi internet access and communications lines across large parts of Nusay district.
Andrei Grozin, head of the Central Asia department at the CIS Institute, said the risk of militant and international terrorist groups infiltrating from Afghanistan remains the main reason for annual military exercises in the region.
According to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, Grozin said in an assessment of the latest Russia-Kyrgyzstan drills that security threats in Central Asia remain high.
He said regional military exercises, whether held under the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or through bilateral cooperation, are mainly designed to prepare for potential threats originating from Afghanistan.
The Russian researcher recalled the “Batken events” of 1999 and 2000, when trained militants from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and extremist groups based in Afghanistan attempted to enter Uzbekistan through Kyrgyzstan.
According to Grozin, despite the relatively small number of attackers, they inflicted heavy losses on local forces, forcing Bishkek to seek military assistance from Moscow, Tashkent and Astana.
He said that experience has led regional governments to continue taking seriously the possibility of similar scenarios originating from Afghanistan.
Other security experts have also warned that recent developments along Afghanistan’s northern borders, particularly in Badakhshan province near Tajikistan, indicate that instability in the area persists.
The CIS Institute is based in Moscow and regularly focuses on political, security, economic and social developments in the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.
Russia-Kyrgyzstan Joint Military Exercise Begins
The comments come as a new joint military exercise involving Russian and Kyrgyz forces began on 11 August in difficult mountainous terrain and is due to continue until 17 August.
During the drills, forces from the two countries are practising border closures, assaults, the clearance of simulated illegal armed groups and the use of drones to prevent possible infiltration by extremist groups.
The exercise command said the drills were important for strengthening combat coordination and friendly relations between Moscow and Bishkek.
Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, has called for an independent investigation into the killing of 11 people by Taliban security forces in Kabul.
The Taliban said on 1 August that seven people had been killed in Kabul’s eighth police district, describing them as “armed robbers”.
Bennett wrote on X on Monday that reports of people being killed during Taliban security operations in Kabul were concerning.
He referred to the shooting of four people on Monday and the killing of seven others in recent days in the eighth police district, saying the incidents should be investigated urgently and impartially.
He added that the use of lethal force must comply with international human rights law and the principles of necessity and proportionality.
Taliban police said on Monday, 10 August, that four people had been killed in Kabul’s 18th police district.
Khalid Zadran, spokesman for the Taliban police command in Kabul, said the men were “armed” and had entered a house to steal.
According to him, Taliban forces clashed with the men after arriving at the scene.
The Taliban said all four were killed and that two pistols were recovered from them.
Nine days earlier, Taliban forces killed seven other people in the Stanikzai Blocks area of Kabul’s eighth police district.
Zadran said those men were also “armed robbers” and had opened fire on Taliban forces first.
He said one Taliban member was wounded in the clash and that a vehicle and several weapons were seized.
Afghanistan International spoke to relatives of some of those killed. They rejected the Taliban’s account and said their relatives had been shot dead without trial.
According to information received by Afghanistan International, some of those killed were Hazara.
Families Initially Unaware of Their Relatives’ Fate
An informed source told Afghanistan International that the families of the seven people killed on 1 August initially had no information about their relatives’ fate.
According to the source, after the men disappeared, their families separately approached Taliban police stations seeking information.
Taliban police officials initially said they knew nothing about them.
The families were later told to go to the eighth police district because seven people accused of robbery had been killed there.
They later identified their relatives after seeing photographs of the bodies at the forensic medicine department.
The bodies were subsequently handed over to their families.
A relative of one of those killed told Afghanistan International that his family was financially well-off.
In his view, the young man had no reason to resort to theft.
Reactions to the Killings of People Accused of Robbery
The killings have also prompted reactions on social media.
Some users supported the Taliban, while others questioned why the men were not arrested and put on trial.
Referring to the Taliban’s claim that two pistols had been recovered from the four men killed, one user wrote that the main issue was that they had been summarily executed.
The user alleged that they had been shot after being detained.
He added that people should not encourage rulers to kill or deprive others of their rights, warning that anyone could face the same fate in the future.
Following the killing of the seven men in the eighth police district, Fazl Ahmad Manawi, justice minister in Afghanistan’s former regime, also described the incident as a summary execution.
Manawi said that in Islamic jurisprudence and law, the presumption of innocence is a fundamental principle, and no one is considered guilty merely on the basis of an accusation.
He called for an independent investigation into the incident.
This is not the first time the Taliban’s account of people it described as “armed robbers” being killed has been disputed by other sources.
In February 2025, the Taliban described three people killed in Nimroz as “armed robbers”, but local sources said they were not thieves.
On 4 June this year, the Taliban also accused two people killed in Herat of robbery.
An armed group opposed to the Taliban later said the two were its members and had been killed during an attack on a Taliban checkpoint.
UNAMA: Complaints Against Taliban Forces Go Unanswered
UNAMA issued a report on Monday, 10 August, on accountability for Taliban security forces and officials in response to public complaints.
The mission said Taliban security agencies had provided no statistics on the number of complaints about misconduct by their forces or the outcomes of investigations into those complaints.
UNAMA also said it had documented numerous cases in which complaints remained unresolved.
According to the mission, some people refrain from filing complaints against Taliban forces because they fear retaliation and lack confidence in the existing complaint mechanisms.
UNAMA also reported cases in which no investigation or arrest followed serious allegations of human rights violations.
The mission expressed concern as well about some Taliban military courts refusing to accept complaints filed by members of the public against Taliban forces.