Senior Taliban official Mullah Baradar allegedly injured as Supreme Leader deploys forces in capital

On 31 January 2025, several Afghan social media activists and news agencies, primarily anti-Taliban, reported on rumours that Mullah Baradar, acting Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, had been injured in an attack in Kandahar. According to journalist Sami Jahesh, Taliban members prayed for Baradar’s health in their WhatsApp chats.

The rumours persisted into 1 and 2 February, with anti-Taliban accounts alleging that Baradar had sustained injuries in an intra-Taliban clash (although in Kabul, not in Kandahar). The first photo claiming to depict Baradar’s injury, shared online on 2 February, showed him on a bed with his right foot bandaged. AW could not find past instances of the photo being used.

Taliban officials and pro-Taliban accounts in response claimed that Baradar was healthy. Chief of Staff of Deputy Prime Minister of Economic Affairs, Abdullah Azzam, denied that Baradar had been shot, but claimed he was well and working in his office, although without visual proof.

Some of these accounts showed an allegedly recent video with Baradar seated in a chair, although it is notable that his right foot (which was allegedly injured in the attack) is concealed and appears to be bare in the video, while he is wearing shoes on his other foot. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid also dismissed reports of Baradar’s injury.

On 4 February 2025, Taliban media showed Baradar meeting with the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul. Several other political figures and media activists asserted that Baradar had not been shot.

It is possible that photos of Baradar being hospitalised for unrelated reasons could have fuelled speculation, in particular among anti-Taliban activists who are monitoring for splits in the regime.

Rumours about force deployments from Kandahar to Kabul

On 1 February 2025, Paigah News and a social media user with more than 10,000 followers on X claimed that a large number of the Supreme Leader’s personal forces had entered Kabul to secure the capital’s main entryways, airport, and the Presidential Palace. The same forces were also allegedly deployed to northern provinces.

Comparing two videos of the main entrance of the Kabul Airport from 14 January and 3 February 2025, no significant changes to the security were observed. Video news reports from the Kabul Airport entrance on 4 February 2025 shows that a new security team had replaced the forces present in 2023, although it is unclear when this change took place, while AW could not confirm if the new forces belonged to the Supreme Leader’s personal force.

Meanwhile, sources on the ground have confirmed to AW that security around the Kabul money exchange market (Sara-i-Shahzada) has been strengthened with additional fighters stationed inside and outside the market, although it was unclear for what purpose. On 27 January 2025, Amu TV also reported that the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) had deployed operatives to the market to control the USD-AFN currency exchange rates.

On 4 February 2025, Amu TV reported that the Supreme Leader had deployed his forces in strategic locations of Kabul, including Bala Hisar and Kabul Airport and other areas previously controlled by the Haqqanis. Amu TV also cites an employee at Kabul Airport who claims that a substantial number of Kandahari Taliban forces have been stationed at the airport over the past week.

The men in the footage wore militia-type [Figure 3 below] uniforms the Taliban commonly used during the insurgency era – a long cloth (Kameez) and a trouser made from military grade fabric. Taliban’s special units, such as Umari Lashkar and the Supreme Leader’s Special Forces, have also been noted using irregular camouflage resembling the ones in the Amu TV video.

On 4 February 2025, media influencer Ahmad Noori shared audio of residents and Taliban members based in Mazar-e-Sharif (Balkh), who discuss evacuating the city to move to an unspecified location. AW was unable to verify the authenticity of the audio.

Rumours about the absence of several senior Taliban members

Several news sources and media activists — mainly anti-Taliban — reported on the absence of senior Taliban members from their offices, arguing that most of them had fled the country fearing a collapse of the regime.

These allegedly include Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Qari Faseehuddin Fitrat, Finance Minister Din Muhammad Hanif, Interior Minister Sarajuddin Haqqani, and several others.

Social media influencer Sami Jahesh claimed that Maulavi Qudratullah Amini, the former Taliban governor for Panjshir, Parwan, and Logar, has fled with his family to Pakistan. Other reports suggested that Qudratullah was stopped at Kabul airport and was denied travel by plane. 

Paigah News claimed that Yarmuk forces (suicide forces unit loyal to the Supreme Leader) were employed at the airport to stop Taliban officials from travelling abroad. Abdul Khurasani, who has 10,000 followers on X, reported that Economy Minister Din Muhammad Hanif has fled to Turkey. Meanwhile, journalist Husna Rahimi, with 58,000 followers on X, claimed that 30 senior Taliban officials from the Ministry of Defence had left Afghanistan under various pretences.

AW noted that some senior Taliban officials had been absent in posts on official Taliban social media accounts in the past three weeks, although this is unlikely to be an indication of their roles being reduced.

Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob was last seen in the media meeting an Iranian delegation on 26 January 2025. Prior to this date, he was featured on the MoD account on X, meeting representatives from Saudi Arabia and Qatar on 22 and 23 January 2025, respectively. General Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Qari Faseehuddin Fitrat was last mentioned on the Ministry of Defence’s official account on X on 22 December 2024.

It is possible that senior Taliban figures are in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, a common trip for Afghans during the cold winter months. It is worth noting, for example, that on 22 January 2025, the United Nations Security Council Committee approved a travel ban exemption for Sirajuddin Haqqani, allowing him to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.