The Ministry of Defense of the de facto government of Taliban announced on Tuesday that its forces had killed a leader of an “insurgent” group in northern Afghanistan.

He is a former military special forces officer of the Western-backed government, which collapsed in August 2021.

A ministry statement said Akmal Amiri was among eight “insurgents” killed in an operation after a hideout was located in Parwan province.

Akmal Amiri was a leading figure of the so-called Afghanistan Freedom Front.

After the Taliban regained power, the war-experienced former special forces officer went to the Panchir Valley to fight against Sunni fundamentalists.

The usually well-informed Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwari called the deaths of Akmal Amiri, as well as Bashir Andarabi, another former special forces officer, a “heavy blow” to the anti-Taliban armed movement on Twitter.

The Front confirmed that it had lost six fighters, but stressed that it had not yet confirmed that Akmal Amiri was among them.

Several armed resistance groups to the Taliban have been formed since the fundamentalist movement regained power, but they have not achieved notable military success or gained control of territory to date.