KABUL: The Afghanistan resistance movement has said that its fighters have shot down an Indian-made Cheetah helicopter in the Arzoy area of Afghanistan’s Panjshir province, injuring Taliban regime Air Force chief of staff Mullah Qiblaullah Muqeem.
The Afghan Green Trend, in a post on X, said that the helicopter was targeted on 7 October, during which two pilots, Abdul Azeem and Mohammad Naeem, were also seriously wounded and evacuated to Kabul aboard a Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter.
The Afghanistan Green Trend (AGT), also known as Basej-e Milli (National Movement), is an anti-Taliban, pro-democracy, and Afghan nationalist political movement founded in 2010 by former Afghan intelligence chief and former Vice-President Amrullah Saleh.
AGT said the operation struck a key Taliban Regime military asset and exposed vulnerabilities within its air capability.
The downing of an Indian-made Cheetah helicopter adds to growing resistance pressure in Panjshir and further challenges the Taliban Regime’s claims of firm control.
Green Unit downed a Taliban helicopter:
On October 7, 2026 at 7:15 a.m., one Indian-made Cheetah helicopter, a remnant from the Republic era that was in service with the Taliban militias , was downed and destroyed as a result of a Green Unit’s pre-planned smart operation. Two pilots named Abdul Azeem and Mohammad Naeem and the so-called chief of staff of the Taliban’s air forces, Mullah Qiblaullah Muqeem, were badly wounded. The injured, whose condition has been described as extremely critical, were evacuated from the area to Kabul by a Mi-17 (Russian made helicopter). The wreckage of the helicopter remains in the Arzoy area of Panjshir, and we are attempting to photograph and film it.— Afg Green Trend (@AGTAfghanistan) October 8, 2026
The operation, according to Afghanistan Green Trend, underscores two developments concerning the Taliban’s military capabilities and the growing activity of anti-Taliban groups in Panjshir.
The group said the helicopter involved was an Indian-made aircraft and that it shows Indian military hardware now flies under the Taliban flag.
It further said that the aircraft was targeted in broad daylight while carrying a senior Taliban Air Force official, with the wreckage left at the site as evidence of the attack.
The claims come amid continued reports of attacks by anti-Taliban groups in Panjshir and other parts of Afghanistan. Afghanistan Green Trend has previously claimed responsibility for attacks targeting Taliban personnel and military vehicles, although such claims are not always independently verified.
The latest incident has renewed attention on the security situation in Panjshir, where anti-Taliban resistance groups continue to carry out attacks despite the Taliban’s control of the province.
Afghanistan freedom front kills 7 Taliban
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) on Wednesday said its fighters killed 7 Taliban fighters in separate attacks targeting Taliban positions and personnel in Badakhshan and Kapisa provinces.
Fighters of the Afghanistan Freedom Front targeted Taliban positions in the Poza-e Khum-Zargar area of Kohistan district of Kapisa province with rocket fire and machine-gun bursts on Wednesday, AFF said in a statement.
Freedom fighters of the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) targeted Taliban positions in the Poza-e Khum-Zargar area of Kohistan District, Kapisa Province, with rocket fire and machine-gun bursts at around 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 7, 2026.
The pre-planned attack lasted approximately 20 minutes. At least three Taliban members were killed and two others were wounded.
— Afghanistan Freedom Front (@FREEDOMFRONTAFG) October 7, 2026
“The pre-planned attack lasted approximately 20 minutes. At least three Taliban members were killed, and two others were wounded,” the resistance group said.
In another statement, the Freedom Front said its fighters targeted a vehicle carrying Taliban fighters in Faizabad city of Badakhshan province on Wednesday. The resistance group said four Taliban members, including a Taliban commander, were killed in the attack.
“On Wednesday, October 7, 2026, the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) carried out a targeted operation against a Toyota Hilux vehicle carrying Taliban members in the Shahr-e-Naw area of Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan Province,” AFF said.
ALSO READ: Afghanistan Freedom Front Kills 7 Taliban Fighters in Badakhshan and Kapisa
“As a result of the operation, four Taliban members were killed, including a commander of the group who had been pursued by the Afghanistan Freedom Front for some time.”
Taliban should transfer power to Afghan people
Earlier on Tuesday, former Afghan Prime Minister and Hezb-e Islami Afghanistan leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar had criticised the Taliban regime and called for power to be transferred to the people, saying Afghanistan’s future political system should be determined by its citizens.
Hekmatyar made the remarks in a recent online address attended by a number of his supporters. He called the Taliban regime a “government of oppressors, corrupt figures, plunderers and foreign mercenaries”.
He said he wanted power transferred from the Taliban to the Afghan people so that citizens could elect a council and determine the country’s future political system and government.
He stressed that Afghanistan’s political future should be decided by the people rather than political parties or groups, and that the will of citizens should form the basis of any future political structure.
Referring to Afghanistan’s political future, Hekmatyar said “change is inevitable and near”, arguing that just as governments backed by the Soviet Union and the United States had failed to endure, Taliban rule would also not last.
He also said the Taliban regime remained politically isolated and, contrary to its claims, had no genuine and lasting allies in the region or internationally.
According to Hekmatyar, countries that once supported the Taliban were no longer aligned with the group, while no state offered it complete support.
