Sami Sadat
Sayed Sami Sadat دگرجنرال سیدسمیع سادات | |
|---|---|
 Sami Sadat in 2019 During his mission as an intelligence advisor to the Minister of Defense of Afghanistan | |
| Deputy Chief of the Afghan Army | |
| In office 13 July 2021 – 15 August 2021 | |
| President | Hamid Karzai Ashraf Ghani |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sayed Sami Sadat 17 March 1985 |
| Relations | Hikmat Sadat (brother) Khtera Sadat (sister) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | .svg.png){kind=small} Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Afghan United Front (2023–present) |
| Branch/service | .svg.png){kind=small} Afghan National Army (2007–2021) |
Years of service | 2007–2021 (Afghan National Army) 2023–present (Afghan United Front) |
| Rank | .svg.png){kind=small} Lieutenant General |
| Commands |
|
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan Republican insurgency in Afghanistan |
Sayed Sami Sadat[a] (born 17 March 1985) is an Afghan military officer who served as Deputy Chief of the Afghan Army in 2021. He is the leader of the Afghan United Front (AUF), an armed group conducting an insurgency against Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
Early life and public service
Sadat was born on born 17 March 1985 in the Khair Khāna neighbourhood of Kabul in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He belongs to the Pashtun ethnic group and his family has Arab roots.[1][2] He finished school in Kabul and graduated from the Joint Services Command and Staff College at the Defence Academy in the class of 2011 (ACSC 14).[3] He then attended the Polish Defence Academy, where he completed the Battalion Command Course, and the NATO Military Academy in Munich, Germany.[3] He also holds an Master's degree in Strategic Management and Leadership from the Chartered Management Institute.
Sadat began government service in 2007; his first job was Deputy Director for Strategic Commuinications at the Ministry of the Interior.[4]
Sadat also served as a senior director in the NDS.[5] He Served as Director of covert action program from 2013 to 2015.[6] General Sadat took charge of an elite clandestine counter-terrorism unit where he was leading Afghan and US intelligence joint clandestine counter-terrorism activities known as CTU until 2018, his team was in charge operations against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
During this time CTU managed to rescue almost all of the kidnapped persons in Al-Qaeda detention who were kept for prosecution and ransom including Haidar Gailani the son of former prime minister of Pakistan Gailani who was kidnapped by Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and brought in to Afghanistan. In 2017 his unit's operation killed Saifullah Akhtar known as Qari Saifullah Bokhari the leader of Harakat Jihad Islami of Pakistan; who assassinated former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto.
Many Al-Qaeda related terror leaders were captured or killed as result of counter-terrorism operations led by General Sadat making Al-Qaida leadership the weakest.[7][8]
Military career
Sadat has been responsible for the Afghan Army more effectively from 2017 to 2021 in various parts of the country. He led the Afghan National Army's special forces unit and Kabul garrison for a short period before the Fall of Kabul in 2021.[9]
Afghanistan United Front
Since October 2023, Sadat has led the Afghanistan United Front.[10]
In August 2026, Sadat released a video appealing for support from the US and NATO, claiming his group was fighting the Taliban government, Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in Kandahar province.[11]
Commands held
- The commander of (JSOC) the Afghanistan Government's Joint special operations unit against terrorism. (2019-2020)
- Corps Commander of 215th 'Maiwand' Afghanistan (2020-2021)
- Corps Commander ANDSF Corps (Afghanistan) (May 2021-Aug 2021)
- Garrison Commander and In-Charge Kabul Security (May 2021-Aug 2021)
- Afghan United Front (2023-Present)
Publications
Sadat has published a memoir entitled The Last Commander.[12]
Notes
References
- ↑ Selber, Will (2026-08-06). "Afghan United Front commences operations against Taliban". FDD's Long War Journal. Retrieved 2026-08-16.
Sadat, a Pashtun, previously commanded the Afghan National Army's 215th Corps in Helmand province and served in the National Directorate of Security (NDS), the former Afghan government's intelligence and security service
- ↑ Waters, John J. (31 August 2024). ""We Will Fight the Taliban Again"". Real Clear Defense. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 https://www.hoover.org/research/afghanistan-conversation-lieutenant-general-sami-sadat
- ↑ "Sami Sadat — Camca Network". camcanetwork.com. Archived from the original on 2025-02-14. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
- ↑ https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20210812-young-afghan-general-takes-fight-against-taliban-to-social-media
- ↑ https://digitalcollections2.hoover.org/view/ark:/54723/h3j67982c/sadat-sami-2023-june-6-7?offset=9285&limit=25&sort=_score
- ↑ Afghanistanunitedfront.org.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ↑ SallahudinDaud.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ↑ https://www.iowapublicradio.org/podcast/river-to-river/2023-05-12/an-afghan-general-who-faced-execution-after-the-taliban-takeover-maintains-hope-for-his-home
- ↑ Will Seiber (May 22, 2024). "Nascent Afghan resistance grows in strength but not a threat to Taliban rule". The Long War Journal. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
- ↑ Halim, Hamim. "Sami Sadat Seeks Political Support from U.S., NATO After Claiming Armed Operations in Kandahar". Kabul Tribune. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ "Will return and support Taliban-led Afghanistan govt if...: Former Afghan minister". India Today. September 4, 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-01-25.