 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into List of Afghan flags . (Discuss) Proposed since November 2023. |
Throughout the history of Afghanistan, there have been many flags used by rebel groups in Afghanistan's various conflicts. This is a list of the Afghan rebel flags flown by various groups throughout the country's history. [1]
| Flag | Years of use | Rebel group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1916–1934 | Basmachi movement | The Basmachi movement was a rebel group in the Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and Kingdom of Afghanistan. They existed in cooperation with the Saqqawists during the Afghan Civil War. [2] |
 | 1924–1931 | Saqqawists | The Saqqawists were an armed Islamic conservative movement in Afghanistan from 1924 to 1931. They attempted to establish the Emirate of Afghanistan (1929). [3] |
 | 1929 | Kingdom of Afghanistan | Following the Saqqawists forming the Emirate of Afghanistan (1929), Ali Ahmad Khan started a rebellion and overthrew the emirate. This then established the Kingdom of Afghanistan. [3] |
| Flag | Years of use | Rebel group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1973–1974 | Republic of Afghanistan | In 1973, there was a coup d'état in the Kingdom of Afghanistan that overthrew the king and established a republic. [4] |
| Flag | Years of use | Rebel group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1965–1992 | People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan | In 1978, there was a communist revolution in the Republic of Afghanistan led by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. The revolution resulted in the creation of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. [5] |
| Flag | Years of use | Rebel group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1979 | Hazaras | Flag says "God is Great" (الله أكبر) on a green background. |
| Flag | Years of use | Rebel group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973–present | Afghanistan Liberation Organization | Maoist factions in the Soviet–Afghan War under the Afghanistan Liberation Organization (ALO) used the ALO flag. [6] | |
 | 1979–1992 | Islamic Unity of Afghanistan Mujahideen | The jihadist flag was used by many factions in the Islamic Unity of Afghanistan Mujahideen and is still used by Al-Qaeda to this day. [7] |
 | 1987–1989 | Tehran Eight | The Tehran Eight was an Iran-backed Shia faction in the Soviet–Afghan War. The flag of Hezbollah was used by several factions. [8] |
| Flag | Years of use | Rebel group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| | 1989–1992 | Afghan mujahideen | Following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Afghan Civil War (1989–1992) began with the Afghan mujahideen continuing to fight the Republic of Afghanistan. This is the same jihadist flag as used by the Islamic Unity of Afghanistan Mujahideen and Al-Qaeda. [7] |
| Flag | Years of use | Rebel group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1975–present | Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin | After the fall of the PDPA's rule in Afghanistan, the civil war continued with some Islamist group splitting off and continuing to fight against the Islamic State of Afghanistan established by the main Afghan mujahideen. [9] |
| | 1988–present | Al-Qaeda | Osama bin Laden, following the fall of the Republic of Afghanistan, would split from the Afghan mujahideen and establish a new group called Al-Qaeda. [10] |
 | 1989–present | Hezbe Wahdat | Hezbe Wahdat split off from the Afghan mujahideen as the successor of the Tehran Eight. [9] |
| 1992–present | National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan | The National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan split off from the Afghan mujahideen to protect Uzbek and Turkmen interests. [11] | |
 | 1994–1997 | Taliban | The Taliban was formed in 1994 and originally used a plain white flag. They seized almost total control of the country by 1996. [12] |
| Flag | Years of use | Rebel group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1988–present | Turkistan Islamic Party | Originally a Uyghur Islamic extremist organization based in Western China; in 1998 the group's headquarters were moved to Kabul, in the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where members of the group fought against the Northern Alliance. |
 | 1996–2001 | Northern Alliance | Following the Taliban's establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 1996, forces loyal to the interim Islamic State of Afghanistan fled to the far north regions of Afghanistan and banded together to form the Northern Alliance. [13] |
 | 1997–present | Taliban | During the Afghan Civil War (1996–2001), the Taliban government (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) wasn't internationally recognized. Because of this, it was regarded as a rebellion by some. |
 | 1997–2001 | Taliban | Variant flag flown by the Taliban during their rule in Afghanistan. |
| | 1998–2015 | Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan | An Uzbek Islamic extremist organization that the Taliban allowed to operate and occupy land within Afghanistan. |
| Flag | Years of use | Rebel group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| | 1988–present | Turkistan Islamic Party | The party continued to maintain a presence within Afghanistan following the United States invasion of Afghanistan, allying with the Taliban. |
| | 1988–present | Al-Qaeda | Al-Qaeda, under Osama bin Laden, was responsible for the September 11 attacks. They used the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as a base to hide during the attacks. Because of this, the United States invaded Afghanistan and deposed the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda, being an ally of the Taliban, would continue to aid their insurgency. [14] |
| | 1997–present | Taliban | Following the September 11 attacks, the United States invaded Afghanistan and deposed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Northern Alliance was put in power of the new Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Taliban continued to launch an insurgency in the country until August 15, 2021. [15] |
| | 2012–present | Mullah Dadullah Front | A Taliban splinter group that started claiming responsibility bombings and assassinations in 2012. [16] [17] |
| | 2013–present | Fidai Mahaz | A Taliban splinter group under the leadership of Mullah Najibullah. [18] |
| | 2015–2021 | High Council of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate | A Taliban splinter group under the leadership of Muhammad Rasul. [19] |
 | 2015–present | Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province | Starting in 2015, the terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant established their "Khorasan Province" in Afghanistan. They began to wage an insurgency against both the Taliban and Islamic Republic of Afghanistan beginning the Taliban–ISIL conflict in Afghanistan as a part of the greater war. [20] |
| | 2016–present | Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (splinter faction) | IMU leader Usman Ghazi declared the group's support for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in September 2014, [21] but in June 2016, a new faction of the IMU announced itself, denouncing ISIL and swearing its loyalty to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. [22] |
| Flag | Years of use | Rebel group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| | 2015–present | Islamic State – Khorasan Province | During the Panjshir conflict, the Islamic State–Taliban conflict resumed with several attacks on 26 August, 6 September, 8 September, and 18 September 2021. [23] [24] [25] [26] |
 | 2021–present | Panjshir resistance | Following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, the remnants of the Afghan National Army and Islamic Republic of Afghanistan fled to the Panjshir Province to form the Panjshir resistance and continue fighting the revived Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. [27] [28] |
| | 2021–present | Panjshir resistance | Flag of the Islamic State of Afghanistan flown by the Panjshir resistance. [29] |
 | 2021–present | Panjshir resistance | Variant Islamic Republic flag flown by the Panjshir resistance. |
 | 2021–present | Panjshir resistance, Afghanistan Islamic National & Liberation Movement, Watan Dost Front, National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, Khost Resistance Front, National Azadegan Front, Afghanistan Freedom Front, Andarab Resistance Front, Freedom Corps Front , West Nuristan Liberation Front | Flag of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan flown by the Panjshir resistance. [30] [31] and other "Anti-Taliban Groups" [32] [33] |
 | 2021- Present | Freedom and Democracy Front, Hazaristan Resistance Front [33] | The front announced its existence in October 2021. It operates mainly in the provinces of Maidan Wardak and Ghazni. It is composed exclusively of Hazaras, both ex-military and civilians. A spokesman for the front announced in a video released in October that the group's goal is to fight the Taliban and the ISKP throughout Hazarajat. [33] |
 | 2021–Present | Southern Turkistan Armed Independent Operation front/ 'Dzhabhat Turkestan Janubi' [34] | On 29 June, a group of fighters announced the formation of the “Southern Turkestan Front” in a one-minute video circulated on the internet and particularly on Telegram. The commander of the group explains in the video that they will fight the Taliban and protect the rights of the Turkic peoples. The group is composed of Uyghurs, Tajiks, Uzbeks and Turkic people and claims to operate in the Balkh province. [33] |
Ahmad Shah Massoud was an Afghan politician and military commander. He was a powerful guerrilla commander during the resistance against the Soviet occupation between 1979 and 1989. In the 1990s, he led the government's military wing against rival militias; after the Taliban takeover, he was the leading opposition commander against their regime until his assassination in 2001.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan politician, former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so called after Mohammad Yunus Khalis split from Hezbi Islami in 1979 to found Hezb-i Islami Khalis. He has twice served as Prime Minister during the 1990s.
This article on the history of Afghanistan covers the period from the fall of the Najibullah government in 1992 to the end of the international military presence in Afghanistan.
The Islamic State of Afghanistan was established by the Peshawar Accords of 26 April 1992. Many Afghan mujahideen parties participated in its creation, after the fall of the socialist government. Its power was limited due to the country's second civil war, which was won by the Taliban, who took control of Kabul in 1996. The Islamic state then transitioned to a government in exile and led the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. It remained the internationally recognized government of Afghanistan at the United Nations until 2001, when the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan was created and an Afghan Interim Administration took control of Afghanistan with US and NATO assistance following the overthrow of the first Taliban government. The Transitional Islamic State was subsequently transformed into the Islamic Republic, which existed until the Taliban seized power again in 2021 following a prolonged insurgency.
Panjshir is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country containing the Panjshir Valley. The province is divided into seven districts and contains 512 villages. As of 2021, the population of Panjshir province was about 173,000.
The Panjshir Valley is a valley in northeastern Afghanistan, 150 kilometres (93 mi) north of Kabul, near the Hindu Kush mountain range. It is divided by the Panjshir River. The valley is home to more than 100,000 people, including Afghanistan's largest concentration of ethnic Tajiks as of 1997. In April 2004, it became the heart of the new Panjshir Province, having previously been part of Parwan Province. Politically, this province has been considered the start point of Afghanistan's Jihad period against the Soviets. This province is also the birthplace of Afghanistan's national hero, Ahmad Shah Masoud.
The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, was a military alliance of groups that operated between early 1992 and 2001 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. At that time, many non-Pashtun Northerners originally with the Republic of Afghanistan led by Mohammad Najibullah became disaffected with Pashtun Khalqist Afghan Army officers holding control over non-Pashtun militias in the North. Defectors such as Rashid Dostum and Abdul Momim allied with Ahmad Shah Massoud and Ali Mazari forming the Northern Alliance. The alliance's capture of Mazar-i-Sharif and more importantly the supplies kept there crippled the Afghan military and began the end of Najibullah's government. Following the collapse of Najibullah's government the Alliance would fall with a Second Civil War breaking out however following the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's (Taliban) takeover of Kabul, The United Front was reassembled.
Abdul Haq was an Afghan mujahideen commander who fought against the Soviet-backed People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, the de facto Afghan government in the 1980s. He was killed by the Taliban in October 2001 while trying to create a popular uprising against the Taliban in Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11th attacks.
The 1989–1992 Afghan Civil War, also known as the FirstAfghan Civil War, took place between the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of the Soviet–Afghan War on 15 February 1989 until 27 April 1992, ending the day after the proclamation of the Peshawar Accords proclaiming a new interim Afghan government which was supposed to start serving on 28 April 1992.
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"Hereby, on behalf of all members of our movement, in line with our sacred duties, I declare that we are in the same ranks with the Islamic State in this continued war between Islam and [non-Muslims]," Usman Gazi wrote in an online statement on Sept 26.