For several hours early on Friday, July 17, an armed anti-Taliban group claimed to have briefly seized the district headquarters of Yaftal-e-Paeen in Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan province, which borders Pakistan.
According to local sources cited by several Afghan media outlets, the fighters disarmed Taliban personnel, took over the district administration building and raised the flag of a newly formed group called Sepahian-e Mihan (Soldiers of the Homeland). The Taliban acknowledged that an overnight attack had taken place but dismissed reports of a major setback, saying its forces regained control within hours, arrested several suspects and restored order.
If independently verified, the brief takeover would mark the first known instance since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 that an Afghan district headquarters temporarily fell out of its control, according to online news outlet The Kabul Tribune.
BBC Urdu reported that Sepahian-e Mihan is led by Qayum Khan Malang, a former Afghan National Army officer who later joined Ahmad Massoud's National Resistance Front (NRF) before establishing his own armed faction in Badakhshan. During the previous US-backed Afghan government, he reportedly trained and fought alongside US Delta Force personnel.
The Taliban, however, dismissed the attackers as a propaganda-driven group incapable of sustaining any meaningful resistance.
Since reclaiming power in 2021 following the collapse of the US-backed government, the Taliban has maintained firm territorial control despite sporadic attacks by armed resistance groups such as the NRF and the Afghanistan Freedom Front.
The reported incident in Badakhshan recalls the years before the Taliban's return to power, when districts frequently changed hands between the Taliban, government forces and other armed groups. Since August 2021, however, no anti-Taliban group had publicly demonstrated even temporary control over a district headquarters.
Badakhshan, a mountainous province in northeastern Afghanistan, shares borders with Tajikistan, China and India's Gilgit-Baltistan, which Pakistan has occupied since 1948. The strategically important Wakhan Corridor also connects Afghanistan to China. The province further borders Takhar, Panjshir and Nuristan.
Its proximity to the Panjshir Valley has made Badakhshan strategically significant, as the region served as the centre of anti-Taliban resistance led by the Northern Alliance. Even after Kabul fell in 2021, resistance continued under Ahmad Massoud, son of the late anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, known as the "Lion of Panjshir". While the armed campaign has since diminished, Massoud is now seeking international support for a broader political movement against the Taliban, as smaller resistance groups continue low-level insurgent activities.
The reported Yaftal incident comes amid fresh attempts by emerging armed factions to position themselves as challengers to Taliban rule.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE DISTRICT BORDERING CHINA, INDIA AND TAJIKISTAN?
According to local sources cited by The Kabul Tribune and Amu TV, dozens of anti-Taliban fighters launched an assault on the Yaftal-e-Paeen district headquarters early on Friday, July 17.
BBC Urdu, citing local sources, reported that the fighters briefly captured the district headquarters before withdrawing several hours later, after Taliban forces returned and re-established control.
The reports said the attackers disarmed Taliban personnel, occupied the district administration building and hoisted the flag of the newly announced Sepahian-e Mihan group.
The fighters reportedly remained there for several hours before leaving, though their destination remains unknown.
TALIBAN CONFIRMED THE ATTACK, DENIED ANY MAJOR SETBACK
The Taliban confirmed that an attack had taken place but rejected claims that it represented a serious security failure.
According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, the Badakhshan provincial police said, "A number of irresponsible armed persons attacked Yaftal-e-Payeen district late Thursday when senior security officials were on holiday, but were dispersed within hours after the arrival of security forces."
Police added that several attackers had been arrested while efforts continued to apprehend the remaining suspects.
BBC Urdu quoted Badakhshan police as saying that the attackers exploited the absence of senior district officials, who were on leave, but that security forces regained control within hours.
Badakhshan police spokesperson Ehsanullah Kamgar later told BBC Urdu that nine people had been arrested and that efforts were underway to capture two remaining suspects. He said those detained were local residents and could be transferred to Kabul if required.
Kamgar also acknowledged shortcomings among local officials, stating that there had been negligence in carrying out their duties and that those responsible would be held accountable.
TALIBAN ARMY CHIEF CALLED THE CLAIMS PROPAGANDA
Following a visit to Badakhshan after the incident, Taliban Army Chief of Staff Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat dismissed the reported takeover as a publicity exercise.
According to BBC, Fitrat said, "Different groups emerge only to show their presence and occasionally raise a flag somewhere. Whether it is the National Resistance Front, the Freedom Front or Sipahiyan-e-Mihan, they simply want attention. They cannot confront our security forces."
Xinhua, citing TOLOnews, reported similar remarks from Fitrat.
"These groups exist only in name and are using propaganda by raising flags. In reality, they cannot withstand our security forces," he said.
Fitrat added that those arrested had identified themselves as members of the newly formed Sepahian-e Mihan during questioning.
BBC also reported that Fitrat suggested foreign intelligence agencies might have been involved, although he said there was no definitive evidence to support that claim.
WHO ARE THE SEPAHIAN-E MIHAN OR SOLDIERS OF THE HOMELAND?
The group calling itself Sepahian-e Mihan, meaning "Soldiers of the Homeland", had not previously been known among Afghanistan's armed opposition organisations.
According to The Kabul Tribune and Amu TV, the group publicly announced its existence by raising its flag over the Yaftal-e-Paeen district headquarters during the operation.
BBC quoted police spokesperson Ehsanullah Kamgar as saying the organisation was entirely new and that people were hearing about it for the first time. He added that such groups often changed their names and flags rapidly.
The group's emblem has also attracted attention. According to Afghan International, it features the Simurgh, the sun, the Hindu Kush mountains, lapis lazuli, a sword and a star. Social media users and some former Afghan officials said the symbols represent Afghanistan's history, geography and cultural heritage rather than any particular ideology or foreign affiliation.
WHO IS QAYUM KHAN MALANG?
BBC identified the group's leader as Qayum Khan Malang. Afghan political activist Abdul Momin Zia said his real name is Abdul Qayum Shikari and that he is from Koh Bala village in Yaftal district.
According to BBC, Malang completed his education through Grade 12 before joining the Afghan National Army under the former US-backed government. He later trained and fought alongside US Delta Force personnel during operations against the Taliban and reportedly commanded a Delta Force-supported unit.
Following the Taliban's return to power in 2021, he joined Ahmad Massoud's National Resistance Front in Panjshir.
BBC reported that he later parted ways with the NRF due to disagreements with its leadership, returned to Badakhshan, experienced financial difficulties and eventually established his own armed group.
Former Afghan ambassador to the United Nations Mahmood Saikal also identified Malang as a former Afghan National Army officer.
Although the reported seizure of Yaftal lasted only a few hours before the Taliban regained control, it has attracted attention because it is the first reported instance since August 2021 in which anti-Taliban fighters are said to have briefly captured a district headquarters. While the incident does not alter the overall balance of power in Afghanistan, it indicates that armed resistance to Taliban rule continues to evolve nearly five years after the group's return to power.
