The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) has rejected reports linking Taliban opponents to activities claimed by Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP), arguing that the Taliban and the extremist group share ideological foundations and strategic objectives.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the NRF described the reports as part of what it called a “complex scenario of psychological and propaganda warfare” aimed at discrediting the resistance front.
The statement came after conflicting claims emerged over an attack targeting a Taliban intelligence official in Badakhshan.
The NRF had earlier claimed that its forces carried out a targeted operation in Badakhshan that killed the Taliban’s deputy intelligence officer in the province along with two of his bodyguards.
A day later, ISKP claimed responsibility for a separate attack targeting a Taliban intelligence official in Faizabad, Badakhshan, using a motorcycle bomb.
Responding to the reports, the NRF said attempts to attribute ISKP activities to opponents of the Taliban were part of a broader effort to manipulate public perception and obscure the nature of the groups operating in Afghanistan.
NRF links Taliban, ISIS-K ideologically
The resistance front claimed that the Taliban and ISKP draw from the same ideological source and pursue their objectives through violence and extremist methods, describing them as “two sides of the same coin.”
“Both factions have presented a criminal image of religious beliefs by resorting to extreme violence, dogma and takfir, and have committed the heaviest crimes against our people,” the statement said.
The NRF also condemned ISKP’s activities, describing the group as alien to Islam and Afghan culture.
The front further accused the Taliban of attempting to conceal its role in Afghanistan’s continuing instability by shifting responsibility for the country’s security and political crises onto other actors.
The NRF said it would continue its struggle for what it described as a free, independent and terrorism-free Afghanistan.
Armed opposition continues under Taliban rule
Several armed groups opposing the Taliban, including the NRF and Afghan Freedom Front, have continued attacks against Taliban targets since the group returned to power in 2021.
Reports suggest that attacks by anti-Taliban armed groups have increased in recent months. However, the groups have so far failed to establish sustained territorial control over any part of Afghanistan.
The latest exchange of claims also highlights the increasingly complex security environment in northern Afghanistan, where Taliban forces face attacks from both ISKP and armed groups opposed to their rule.
