KABUL — Armed opposition to Taliban rule appears to be intensifying across several parts of Afghanistan, with the Afghanistan Freedom Front claiming that its fighters captured several Taliban checkpoints during clashes in the eastern provinces of Nuristan and Kunar.
The Freedom Front said fighting began in Kamdesh district of Nuristan after Taliban forces attacked its positions with ground troops and drones. The group said it subsequently launched a counterattack and captured several checkpoints, forcing Taliban fighters to withdraw from parts of Kamdesh and the nearby Arandu area toward Nari district in Kunar. The claims could not be independently verified, and Taliban authorities had not officially commented on the fighting.
The latest clashes follow a series of attacks claimed by anti-Taliban groups in Kabul, Sar-e-Pul, Kandahar, Badakhshan, Kunar, Nuristan, Parwan and Paktia. The Freedom Front and other resistance organizations have reported attacks on Taliban checkpoints, vehicles and personnel in recent weeks. Independent monitoring has also recorded several of those claims.
The Afghanistan United Front, led by former Afghan army commander Sami Sadat, has separately claimed a growing number of operations against Taliban forces. Sadat said earlier this month that his group was seeking international support while insisting that Afghan forces could conduct the fight without foreign troops.
The resistance groups’ reported casualty figures remain claims by the groups themselves and have not been independently verified. Recent reporting has nevertheless pointed to an increase in armed activity against the Taliban in several provinces.
