Mullah Dadullah Front

Mullah Dadullah Akhund was a Taliban military commander killed in 2007.Roggio, Bill, "[http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/05/mullah_dadullah_tali.php Mullah Dadullah, Taliban top commander, killed in Helmand] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606194412/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/05/mullah_dadullah_tali.php |date=6 June 2012 }}", The Long War Journal, 13 May 2007. According to Bill Roggio of the Long War Journal, Dadullah had joined the Taliban in 1994 but was held in disfavor by some in that organization for his brutality during the Afghan civil war. Following the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 Dadullah led Taliban forces in southern Afghanistan. U.S. Military officials stated that Dadullah made use of suicide bombings in the Taliban's fight against American, NATO and Afghan government forces, and embraced the radical ideology of al-Qaeda rejected by many other Taliban leaders.Special Operations Interrogator's Report, "[http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/296489-taliban-report.html#document/p1 State of the Taliban] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116145843/http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/296489-taliban-report.html#document/p1 |date=16 November 2021 }}," published by The New York Times, drafted 6 January 2012. Dadullah was killed by British special forces in Helmand Province in 2007. The Dadullah Front, apparently named in his honor, began operating in Southern Afghanistan, including Kandahar, Helmand, and Uruzgan Provinces, under the leadership of Dadullah's younger brother, Mansoor Dadullah.{{cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/863993/is-emergence-sounds-alarms-in-afghanistan/|title=IS emergence sounds alarms in Afghanistan|accessdate=6 September 2015|work=The Express Tribune|date=4 April 2015|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411001441/https://tribune.com.pk/story/863993/is-emergence-sounds-alarms-in-afghanistan|url-status=live}} The group's level of independence from the Taliban was unclear.

U.S. Military and intelligence officials at one stage claimed that the Dadullah Front was led by Mullah Abdul Qayoum Zakir, also known as Abdullah Gulam Rasoul, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who was released in 2007.

The Dadullah Front claimed responsibility for the 14 May 2012 assassination of Afghan High Peace Minister Mullah Arsala Rahmani, who was shot in traffic within Kabul.Roggio, Bill, "[http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/05/mullah_dadullah_fron_1.php Mullah Dadullah Front claims assassination of Afghan High Peace Council member] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116145847/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/05/mullah_dadullah_fron_1.php |date=16 November 2021 }}", The Long War Journal, 14 May 2012. Spokesman Qari Hamza, speaking to The Express Tribune, stated that the Dadullah Front would "target and eliminate" all persons allowing "[non-Muslim] occupation of Afghanistan."Khan, Tahir, "[http://tribune.com.pk/story/378480/killer-blow-to-peace-process-senior-afghan-peace-negotiator-assassinated/ Killer blow to the peace process: senior afghan peace negotiator assassinated] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517012216/http://tribune.com.pk/story/378480/killer-blow-to-peace-process-senior-afghan-peace-negotiator-assassinated/ |date=17 May 2012 }}," Express Tribune, 14 May 2012. Rahmani was the second Peace minister to be killed within the year, following the assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani by a suicide bomber on 20 September 2011. The Dadullah Front also claimed responsibility for that assassination. Both Rahmani and Rabbani had been responsible for organizing ongoing peace talks between the Taliban and the Karzai's government in Afghanistan. American and Afghan officials have stated that the Dadullah Front was attempting to derail peace negotiations then underway with the Taliban.

Callers claiming to represent the group contacted several Afghan officials in May 2012, including Zabul Province representative Dawood Hasas, and threatened retaliation should they vote in favor of a "strategic partnership" negotiated between Hamid Karzai and U.S. President Barack Obama.

Afghan intelligence officials described the Dadullah Front as affiliated with the Taliban. Taliban spokesmen denied any relationship with the Front, and claimed that the group was a creation of the National Directorate of Security.

Following the August 2015 announcement that Akhtar Mansour had succeeded the deceased Mullah Omar as leader of the Taliban, Mansoor Dadullah refused to support him, leading to months of clashes between their forces in Zabul Province, resulting in the killing of Mansoor Dadullah and many of his supporters in November 2015.{{cite web|title=Leader of Taliban Splinter Group Allied With ISIS Is Killed|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/02/world/asia/leader-of-taliban-splinter-group-allied-with-isis-is-killed.html|work=The New York Times|date=1 December 2015|accessdate=1 December 2015|archive-date=16 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116145841/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/02/world/asia/leader-of-taliban-splinter-group-allied-with-isis-is-killed.html|url-status=live}} In August 2016, the Dadullah Front announced Dadullah's nephew Mullah Emdadullah Mansoor as its new leader, and threatened to take revenge on the Taliban.{{cite web|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9019da1595b44c6781fd541e8863bedc/breakaway-taliban-faction-names-new-leader-Afghanistan|title=Breakaway Taliban faction names new leader in Afghanistan|publisher=|access-date=10 October 2016|archive-date=13 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013150644/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9019da1595b44c6781fd541e8863bedc/breakaway-taliban-faction-names-new-leader-Afghanistan|url-status=dead}}

The group was linked to another Taliban splinter group, Fidai Mahaz,{{cite web| title = Taliban splinter group says it killed British-Swedish reporter Nils Horner| work = The Guardian| date = 13 March 2014| url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/12/taliban-splinter-group-british-swedish-reporter-nils-horner| quote = "It last made headlines nearly two years ago in a different incarnation – the Mullah Dadullah front"| access-date = 15 December 2016| archive-date = 16 November 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211116145841/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/12/taliban-splinter-group-british-swedish-reporter-nils-horner| url-status = live}} but the groups were believed to be separate.{{cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/674448/afghan-taliban-commander-mansoor-dadullah-reunites-with-family/|title=Afghan Taliban commander: Mansoor Dadullah reunites with family|accessdate=6 September 2015|work=The Express Tribune|date=21 February 2014|quote=Mansoor’s supporters had launched separate groups – the Shaheed Dadullah Mahaz and Fidaye Mahaz|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305061212/http://tribune.com.pk/story/674448/afghan-taliban-commander-mansoor-dadullah-reunites-with-family/|url-status=live}}

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