Afghan Resistance Expands Nationwide Combat Operations Ahead of Taliban Anniversary

Exclusive: Lt. Gen. Sami Sadat details anti-Taliban resistance’s nationwide expansion and ‘Road to Victory’ strategy in an interview with Military.com

As Afghanistan nears the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power, the Afghanistan United Front (AUF) is expanding combat operations nationwide.

Led by former Afghan National Army Lt. Gen. Sami Sadat, the AUF announced the start of combat operations under the name Operation Muharib, including releasing video evidence of recent attacks along the Kandahar–Spin Boldak highway in the Taliban’s southern heartland and three additional strikes in northern provinces in recent days.

The AUF describes itself as a nationwide organization that is rapidly expanding into the north. Video of the attacks has circulated inside Afghanistan.

The activity comes alongside operations by the Afghanistan Freedom Front and National Resistance Front, creating multi-front pressure at a politically sensitive moment.

The unity amongst previously disparate resistance groups offers an opportunity to unseat the Taliban at a time when they are currently still engaged in conflict with Pakistan and seemingly no external sponsors are offering their services, a stark contrast from the Pakistani sanctuary that the Taliban’s Quetta Shura enjoyed from 2001-2021.

Nationwide Expansion Underway

Sadat commanded Afghan forces in the south during the republic years and has long argued that any serious challenge to Taliban rule must eventually reach Kandahar. In a recent interview with Military.com, he framed the move as the logical next phase after years of political organizing.

“Currently we are united by purpose which is freeing our people from Taliban oppression,” Sadat said. The AUF, formed in the United States in 2023, spent its early years building leadership structures, advocacy networks, and a political office in Virginia.

Its “Road to Freedom” strategy document describes four phases of political work that culminated in the decision to launch combat operations under the Geneva Conventions and Islamic rulings on just warfare.

The group has announced attacks in Kandahar, Helmand’s Lashkari Bazaar area, and Badghis province.

The symbolism is significant to anyone paying attention. Kandahar is both the ideological center of the Taliban movement and the province where U.S. and Afghan forces once relied on complex local partnerships, including the charismatic police chief Abdul Raziq. Operating in Kandahar while simultaneously expanding in the north challenges the narrative of uncontested Taliban control across the country.

The Pressure Intensifies

The United Front and other groups have intensified pressure across the country. In mid-to-late July, the Afghanistan Freedom Front announced sustained fighting in the Zebak district of Badakhshan, including temporary seizure of high ground, rocket attacks on convoys, and the downing of Taliban surveillance drones.

The Homeland Soldiers Front briefly held a district center in Yaftali Sufla before withdrawing. The National Resistance Front, led by Ahmad Massoud, has continued targeted attacks in Badakhshan, Herat, and elsewhere.

These groups are not a single command structure. They remain organizationally distinct. Yet Sadat emphasizes a shared objective that is beginning to set conditions for broader cooperation.

Currently we are united by purpose.

That purpose is the removal of Taliban rule and the restoration of a constitutional order. In practical terms, it means parallel military pressure that forces the Taliban to divide attention and resources across distant theaters.

External Support Remains Limited

Sadat is frank about the current material reality. “We currently don’t have practical material support from any foreign governments, but we have global sympathy, and there are increasing signs in Middle Eastern Muslim nations to stand against the Taliban,” he said.

Neighboring states face the practical costs of Taliban rule in the form of terrorist spillover and migration pressures. Sadat said the United Front is working to offer those governments a strategy that could help them coordinate on Afghanistan without deepening existing regional divisions.

The recent Pakistan-Afghanistan fighting along the Durand Line has already demonstrated how external pressure can open seams inside Taliban governance and force hard choices about force allocation. Resistance groups are watching those seams closely.

A Three-Phase Vision After the Taliban

If the military campaign succeeds, Sadat’s roadmap is explicit. Phase one is the fight itself.

Phase two is transition: a Loya Jirga of elders, women, and representatives from across the country that would form a transitional government, set policy priorities, and decide whether the 2004 Constitution requires amendment.

Phase three is stabilization: rebuilding institutions, a professional national army, and an economy oriented toward private enterprise and regional trade corridors.

“My vision for post Taliban Afghanistan is a free country where civil liberties are guaranteed and protected, justice is for all and economic opportunities are available for young men and women so they don’t have to leave our country,” Sadat said. The legal foundation remains the 2004 Constitution until the Afghan people themselves decide otherwise inside the country.

The United Front’s published strategy places heavy emphasis on immediate civilian protection in any liberated area. Local police drawn from the community, a civilian governor, a finance director, and a judge would stand up under military command.

Schools, especially for girls, would reopen as a priority. Corruption would be met with zero tolerance. These details matter because previous Afghan governments lost legitimacy in part through predatory local security forces.

What Outside Support Looks Like

Asked how people outside Afghanistan can help, Sadat’s answer was direct. Political support, donations, and logistical assistance from individuals, organizations, and governments are all welcome. He placed particular weight on the United States.

“We believe the U.S. owes us morally to support us as the situation we find ourselves in is the direct result of our politicians and the U.S.,” he said.

It’s only right if they help us now take our country. We will correct our mistake by standing up to international terrorism. We want the U.S. government to support us materially and politically as well. It’s a virtuous cause.

Whether that support materializes remains an open question in Washington and other capitals; but the alternative is too unpalatable to bear for many Afghan veterans and their families five years after the disastrous withdrawal.

For now, the resistance groups are proceeding with the resources they have. The fifth anniversary of the fall of Kabul will arrive with the Taliban still in control of the major cities and highways.

It will also arrive with more claimed fronts, more documented fighting, and a clearer statement from at least one former senior Afghan commander that the political phase is over, and the combat phase has begun.

The durability of that expansion will depend on logistics, popular support inside Afghanistan, and whether the various resistance organizations can convert shared purpose into coordinated action.

The anniversary itself guarantees attention. What happens in the months after will determine whether the current claims mark a temporary spike or the start of a sustained multi-front campaign.