On August 1, a new anti-Taliban resistance group emerged in Afghanistan. After years of hinting at military operations, the Afghan United Front (AUF), led by former Afghan National Army Lieutenant General Sami Sadat, claimed its first attack in Kandahar, reportedly killing two Taliban fighters, before claiming a second operation in Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.
“Historically, Afghans first fight and then come to politics, and this has been the reason why we could not build a reliable political system,” Sadat told FDD’s Long War Journal when asked about the timing of the group’s decision to launch operations. “We have learned from our past mistakes and this time, we spent the time to assess the failures and successes, developed a workable strategy, assembled a team of committed Afghan generals, built an international network, and then launched operations,” he added.
Sadat, a Pashtun, previously commanded the Afghan National Army’s 215th Corps in Helmand province and served in the National Directorate of Security (NDS), the former Afghan government’s intelligence and security service. He is also a graduate of the Joint Services Command and Staff College at the United Kingdom’s Defence Academy, the Polish National Defence University’s Battalion Command Course, and the NATO Defense College. Sadat has appeared frequently in US media since the Taliban’s takeover, and he maintains relationships on Capitol Hill.
Following the AUF’s initial attacks, Sadat posted a video on X announcing the commencement of combat operations against the Taliban. Wearing the Afghan National Army uniform of the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Sadat declared that efforts to reach a negotiated settlement with the Taliban “had failed,” leaving the Afghan people to endure “unspeakable human rights abuses” and the “return of international terrorism” inside Afghanistan.
Sadat also thanked the international community for assisting Afghan refugees and assured Afghanistan’s neighboring countries that the resistance posed no threat to them, stating, “We want to grow with you.” Finally, Sadat appealed to NATO for material support, emphasizing, “We do not want your soldiers,” but requesting assistance to fight “not only the Taliban, but Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and Tehreek-e-Taliban,” additional jihadist organizations active across Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“Victory for us is a free Afghanistan from the Taliban, and a return to the constitutional order where civil liberties and the rights of citizens are protected by law,” Sadat told Long War Journal.
Following the speech, the AUF claimed five additional attacks:
- August 2: The AUF claimed an attack in Badghis Province, reportedly killing two Taliban members whom it accused of torturing former Afghan security force personnel.
- August 2: The AUF claimed an attack in Ghor province in retaliation for the death of a former female Afghan National Police officer.
- August 3: The AUF claimed an attack against a Taliban police center in Kandahar, reportedly killing two Taliban guards at the entrance in retaliation for acts of torture and the imprisonment of innocent Afghans.
- August 4: The AUF claimed an attack in Qaysar district, Faryab province, reportedly killing a member of the Taliban’s intelligence service.
- August 6: The AUF claimed two separate attacks in Kandahar province, targeting Taliban intelligence officials in Spin Boldak and Kandahar City and reportedly killing both officials.
“Success for us at this stage of the conflict is keeping the Taliban busy fighting us so they do not have time to torture our people,” Sadat told LWJ. “We want to create momentum that will culminate in the resurgence of Afghans united under the tricolor flag.”
With the AUF’s entry into the conflict, the anti-Taliban resistance now includes a Pashtun-led organization likely to focus its operations in southern Afghanistan, expanding the battlefield beyond resistance organizations’ historical focus in the north.
“Choosing Kandahar was deliberate,” Sadat said. “We want to show them that there is nowhere safe from our attacks, even in the Taliban’s supreme leader’s house.”
The AUF’s emergence likely does not make the anti-Taliban resistance an existential threat to the Taliban government, but it further complicates the regime’s security environment. The Taliban now face a multi-ethnic armed resistance, a long-running insurgency by the Islamic State, and simmering tensions with Pakistan. As the fifth anniversary of Kabul’s fall approaches, resistance groups are likely to increase the tempo of their operations in an effort to undermine Taliban claims of stability and uncontested rule.
“We are going to go all the way, as long as it takes, and whatever it takes,” Sadat told LWJ, promising that the Taliban “will be making loads of coffins for their men.”
