KABUL (The Thursday Times) — Armed groups opposing Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers more than doubled their claimed attacks in October, according to a monthly tally by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank, with former general Sami Sadat’s Afghan United Front claiming the most.
The groups claimed 82 attacks in 21 of the country’s 34 provinces, using roadside bombs, indirect fire, ambushes and assassinations, and said they had killed 122 Taliban members and wounded 68. Those figures are the groups’ own claims. The tally left out a further 14 attacks claimed by the National Independence Front, because many of its videos appeared to use old footage and one looked staged.
Sadat, who commanded the former Afghan army’s 215th Corps in Helmand, claimed 36 operations, more than three times the total of the next group. Most were in Kandahar and Helmand, and his is the only resistance group focused on challenging the Taliban in their southern heartland. On October 26 it claimed seven attacks across six provinces within 24 hours.
Ahmad Massoud’s National Resistance Front claimed 11 attacks, including one on October 4 that it said killed Safiullah Motawakel, the Taliban’s deputy intelligence chief for Faizabad. The Taliban killed one of its commanders, Mirwais Khan, in Panjshir on October 18, the second the group has lost in three months.
The Afghan Freedom Front of former army chief Yasin Zia claimed 10, including an October 22 attack on Bagram Airbase that reportedly killed or wounded more than 10 Taliban members. The Afghanistan Republican Front claimed nine.
Former Vice President Amrullah Saleh’s Green Unit claimed eight, its highest monthly total, and said it had brought down an Indian-made Cheetal helicopter in Panjshir, injuring both pilots. The Taliban denied that, saying the aircraft hit rocks while landing in an unsuitable spot.
The Afghan Freedom Front also claimed sustained fighting for a second month in Kamdesh district in Nuristan, which borders Pakistan. The think tank said that likely points to an effort to secure freedom of movement and supply routes in the area. Tension between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban remains high, and Pakistan’s military spokesman warned on Sunday that the Taliban could not absorb the “punishment” Pakistan could inflict.
The movement remains divided. Two more groups entered the conflict at the end of October, including the Afghan National Liberation Front, formed by former lawmaker Abdul Sattar Husseini after he left the Afghan Freedom Front. It adopted an emblem almost identical to that of his old group. The think tank said the splits and the loss of commanders raised questions about whether more attacks could become a sustained challenge to Taliban rule.
