Taliban’s defense ministry has confirmed the death of Akmal Amir, a former special forces officer and a key commander of the anti-Taliban group Freedom Front, in an operation on his hideout in Salang district in Parwan province north of Kabul city.
The Taliban ministry said in a tweet Tuesday that seven other members of the front were also killed in the clash on Monday night.
The Freedom Front, which is mostly comprised of former Afghan national security and defense forces, confirmed the clash but did not confirm the death of Akmal Amir, who was in charge of the front’s military affairs.
The front in a statement on late on Tuesday evening did not confirm the death of Akmal Amir, but it said that six of its members, including Basir Andarabi, were killed in a clash against the Taliban in southern Salang region in Parwan province.
Meanwhile, Hameed Khorasani, Taliban’s district governor for Paktia province, told Amu that Akmal Amir and his deputy Basir Andarabi were among eight people killed in Monday night’s operation conducted by forces led by the Taliban’s defense ministry in an area between Salang district of Parwan and Shutul district of Panjshir.
Khorasani sent a voice note to Amu in which Akmal Amir warns Khorasani to come alone to the Panj Peran area in the province and face him.
Hameed Khorasani who is a resident of Panjshir was the Taliban’s security chief for Panjshir and said he had a verbal clash with Akmal Amir a few days earlier.
The Freedom Front said its forces clashed with the Taliban in Salang mountains, adding that Amir was engaged in a clash with the Taliban in the area until 2 am on Tuesday morning. They also said that they have had no contact with him since then.
The Freedom Front said the Taliban also suffered casualties in the clash and that the bodies of their dead and the wounded have been taken to Parwan Hospital.
So far, no photo has been published of Amir’s body but photos of the bodies of Basir Andarabi and two of his comrades have been posted online.
Akmir Amir was a member of the Afghan Army’s special forces unit under the previous government. After the fall of Kabul in August 2021, he went to Panjshir and joined the resistance front, but when the Taliban entered Panjshir the same month, he went to Iran.
Sources within the Freedom Front said that Amir returned from Iran two months ago and was heading up the military affairs for the front.
