Afghanistan Peace Campaign
Abdullah Khanjani, head of the Political Committee of Afghanistan’s National Resistance Front, confirmed senior commander Hasib Panjshiri has been killed.
Hasib Panjshiri, a senior military commander of Afghanistan’s National Resistance Front (NRF), has been killed, the group’s political leadership confirmed on Thursday.
Abdullah Khanjani, head of the National Resistance Front’s Political Committee, confirmed Panjshiri’s death in a video statement on Thursday evening, describing him as a “great commander.” Khanjani did not provide details about the circumstances of his death, while Kabul has not issued an official statement on the incident.
According to informed sources familiar with the incident, Panjshiri was traveling with seven other NRF fighters from Panjshir toward Andarab in Baghlan province when their convoy was ambushed in the northern Salang area. The group was reportedly traveling in two Toyota Hilux vehicles, with four fighters in each vehicle, and was heading to carry out an operation in Andarab.
The sources said the resistance fighters had checked the route before departing and believed it was safe to travel. However, the Taliban allegedly learned of their planned movement and set up an ambush along the route in northern Salang.
A fierce clash reportedly erupted after the convoy entered the ambush. The four fighters traveling in the first vehicle were killed during the fighting. Panjshiri, who was in the second vehicle with three other fighters, was also killed in the confrontation. The fate of the three men who were with him remains unknown.
Earlier on Thursday, Al-Mersaad, a media outlet affiliated with Taliban intelligence, claimed Panjshiri had been killed in an operation carried out by special forces. The National Resistance Front later confirmed his death but did not verify the details of the operation or disclose the location and timing of the incident.
Ali Maisam Nazary, the NRF’s head of foreign relations, also confirmed Panjshiri’s death in a Facebook post, without providing further information about how he was killed.
Hasib Panjshiri was one of the National Resistance Front’s most prominent military commanders under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud. Before the collapse of the former Afghanistan government in August 2021, he served in Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) special forces.