The Afghanistan Freedom Front claimed responsibility for an overnight attack on Taliban positions in the northeastern province of Badakhshan, while Taliban said five attackers were killed in the clashes.
Three local sources told Amu TV that fighting erupted late Thursday in Zebak district and continued for several hours.
Daoud Naji, head of political affairs for the Freedom Front, said in a post on X that what he described as a “decisive battle” had entered a new phase.
The Taliban’s 219th Omar-e-Salis Division confirmed the fighting in a statement, saying border forces had killed five attackers. The statement said the armed men entered Zebak district from Pakistan’s Chitral region before engaging Taliban forces.
Amu TV could not independently verify either side’s account or casualty claims.
The clashes are the latest in a series of attacks targeting Taliban forces in Badakhshan, a province that has seen an increase in armed opposition activity in recent weeks.
Last week, the National Resistance Front said its fighters briefly seized government offices, including the district administration and police headquarters, in Yaftal-e-Payin district near the provincial capital before withdrawing after several hours. Taliban authorities did not publicly confirm that claim.
Security analyst Bismillah Taban said growing public dissatisfaction with the Taliban had contributed to increased armed activity in parts of the country, particularly in Badakhshan.
Former Senate deputy speaker Asif Sediqi also linked the unrest to local grievances, including governance, ethnic representation and disputes over natural resources.
Zebak district lies in southeastern Badakhshan along the border with Pakistan’s Chitral region. According to Afghanistan’s former National Statistics and Information Authority, the district had a population of about 8,900 in 2020.
The district fell to the Taliban in 2017 during the group’s annual Mansouri offensive against the former Western-backed government. Nearly a decade later, with the Taliban now in power, the district has become the site of repeated attacks by armed opposition groups.
