Fidai Mahaz

Fidai Mahaz
فدا محاذ‎ Sacrifice Front
Jihadist flag, which was used by the group multiple times Logo of Fidai Mahaz
Leaders	Mullah Najibullah
Dates of operation	c. 2013–c. 2021
Split from	Taliban and Mullah Dadullah Front
Allegiance	Islamic State (alleged by the Taliban, denied)[1]  Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (claimed by the group, denied by the Taliban)
Group(s)	Pashtuns & Others
Active regions	Afghanistan[2] Zabul Province Helmand Province Nangarhar Province
Ideology	Ideology of ISIS (alleged by the Taliban, denied)[1] Islamic nationalism Salafist Qutbism Jihadism Anti-Zionism Anti-Shi'ism Anti-Zoroastians sentiment Anti-Western sentiment[3][4]
Status	Inactive currently (No fighting reported since 2021)
Size	8,000 (Self-declared in 2013)[2] 1,000-2,500+ (UN report in 2022)[5]
Allies	State allies  India Non-state allies Islamic State – Khorasan Province (alleged, denied by the group)[1] High Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan[6] (until 2021)[7][8]  Taliban (alleged, denied by the Taliban)[9] Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (sometimes)[10]
Opponents	After the Afghan War  Afghanistan (since 2021, sometimes)  China  Iran  NATO  Pakistan  Russia National Resistance Front War period  India[2]  United States Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (until 2021)  NATO ISAF (until 2014) Resolute Support Mission (2014–2021)
Battles and wars	Global War on Terrorism War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Islamic State–Taliban conflict
Website	http://www.allfida.org/en/

The Sacrifice Front, more commonly known as Fidai Mahaz (Pashto: فدا محاذ), was a Taliban splinter group and faction in the War in Afghanistan.^[2] It was led by Mullah Najibullah, also known as Omar Khitab, a former Taliban commander.^[11][2]

Fidai Mahaz was formed by ex-Taliban members and former members of the Mullah Dadullah Front.^[11] They had grown disillusioned with the leadership of the Taliban under Mullah Akhtar Mansour over peace talks with the Kabul government, opening a political office in Qatar and approaching Iran for support.^[11][2]

The group's leader, Mullah Najibullah, stated that the group's aims were simple: Cancelling the peace process between the insurgents and the Afghan government, and continuing to fight the government in Kabul and the NATO forces until they have left Afghanistan.^[2]

Sources within Afghan intelligence and Taliban figures have stated that Fidai Mahaz was behind the failed suicide attack on the Indian Consulate in the eastern town of Jalalabad in early 2013.^[2]

On 11 March 2014, Fidai Mahaz claimed responsibility for the killing of British-Swedish reporter Nils Horner. The group's spokesman, Qari Hamza, accused him of being "a spy of Mi6" in an English-language statement.^{[3][4][12][13][14]}

In 2020, the group condemned the peace agreement signed in Doha between U.S. representatives and Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar.^[15]

After the Taliban victory, Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir and Sadr Ibrahim, who were alledgedly in charge of the group, took deputy positions in the Taliban's first government interim cabinet.^[16]

Fidai Mahaz claimed Taliban founder and former leader Mullah Mohammed Omar did not die of natural causes but was instead assassinated in a coup led by Mullah Akhtar Mansour and Mullah Gul Agha. The Taliban commander Mullah Mansoor Dadullah, brother of former senior commander Mullah Dadullah, also claimed that Omar had been assassinated.^[17] Mullah Najibullah, claimed that due to Omar's kidney disease, he needed medicine. According to Najibullah, Mansour poisoned the medicine, damaging Omar's liver and causing him to grow weaker. When Omar summoned Mansour and other members of Omar's inner circle to hear his will, they discovered that Mansour was not to assume leadership of the Taliban. It was due to Mansour allegedly orchestrating "dishonourable deals". When Mansour pressed Omar to name him as his successor, Omar refused. Mansour then shot and killed Omar. Najibullah claimed Omar died at a southern Afghanistan hide-out in Zabul Province in the afternoon on 23 April 2013.^[18][11]

• Official site