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On May 22, 2022, the National Liberation Front (NLF) for Afghanistan, a newly established anti-Taliban armed organization, claimed to have killed and wounded several Taliban leaders in an attack targeting the ceremony in Kabul commemorating the anniversary of the death of Taliban emir Akhtar Mohammad Mansour,[1] who was killed in a U.S. drone strike on May 21, 2016, as he entered Pakistan's Baluchistan province from Iran.
In a Dari-language press release, the NLF said: "The urban group of the National Liberation Front conducted swift pre-planned operation in the 15th police district of Kabul City at a time when the anniversary of the death of the leader of the Taliban terrorist group, Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansour, was being observed in the Istiklal Hotel. During the valiant operation, several members of the Taliban terrorist group were killed and wounded. According to information, the defense minister of the Taliban group [Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of late Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar] was critically injured.
"The Taliban terrorist group, which declared suicide operations and suicide bombings as legitimate, has for years carried out suicide attacks and bombings at weddings and mourning ceremonies, and called suicide operations 'martyrdom-seeking.' Now they were targeted in bold attacks by the National Liberation Front's guerrilla fighters. The National Liberation Front of Afghanistan, however, is opposed to suicide attacks and considers them to be against human and Islamic teachings. With such valiant operations, we will show the leaders of this ignorant group that they will never escape the arrows of the children of this country.
"Media office of the National Liberation Front of Afghanistan."
Afghan media reported that a bomb exploded at distance from the Istiklal Hotel in Kabul on May 22 when the Taliban leaders were leaving the hotel after attending a meeting commemorating the sixth anniversary of the death of slain Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour. Taliban government officials reported that the blast wounded three people.
The National Liberation Front was the first to assert responsibility for the blast, followed by Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K). The NLF has said that ISIS-K and the Islamic Emirate (the Afghan Taliban) are two sides of the same coin. Formed soon after the Taliban came to power in 2021 and reportedly led by Dr. Suleman, an Afghan living abroad, the NLF has in recent months claimed responsibility for several attacks against Taliban forces in different provinces of Afghanistan.
[1] Facebook, May 22, 2022.
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