The Taliban have dispatched Fasihuddin Fitrat, Chief of Army Staff, to Badakhshan province following an attack by the newly formed Homeland Soldiers Front on Yaftal-e-Payin district.
Speaking in Badakhshan on Friday, Fitrat said Taliban authorities had received intelligence about the planned assault before it began at dawn. He said he traveled from Kabul to Badakhshan after receiving the information and personally directed the security operation.
Fitrat claimed Taliban forces had thwarted the attack and prevented the assailants from achieving their objectives. He described the attackers as “saboteurs” and “insurgents,” alleging that the majority had been arrested while the remaining suspects were being pursued. He did not provide evidence to support those claims and said the security situation in Badakhshan was under Taliban control.
The Homeland Soldiers Front, however, claimed responsibility for the assault, saying its fighters captured the Yaftal-e-Payin district administration building and controlled the district center for several hours before withdrawing.
Local sources also told Afghanistan International that the district center was temporarily out of Taliban control during the attack.
According to the same sources, Taliban reinforcements were later deployed from Faizabad, after which security forces launched extensive house-to-house search operations in Yaftal-e-Payin. Several local residents and some members of the Taliban’s own local forces were reportedly detained during the operation.
Located near Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, Yaftal-e-Payin is considered strategically important. The reported temporary loss of the district center represents one of the most significant security challenges faced by the Taliban in Badakhshan in recent months, although the competing claims surrounding the incident have not been independently verified.
