Clashes in Panjshir Valley, Taliban and Afghan rebels claim defeat for each other

ACCEPTANCE – Troops Taliban and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud engaged in the fighting Panjshir Valley Afghanistan last Thursday. Now the two are fighting on another front with each other claiming heavy casualties in the fighting in the last province that opposes Taliban rule.

After the fall of Kabul on August 15, several thousand fighters from local militias and remnants of units of the Afghan army and special forces had gathered in Panjshir.

Under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, the son of a former Mujahideen commander, they have survived in the province. The Panjshir Valley was a steep valley which made attacks from outside difficult.

Attempts to negotiate a settlement appear to have failed, with each side blaming the other for the breakdown of talks as the Taliban prepare to announce a government.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group’s fighters had entered Panjshir and captured several areas.

“We started the operation after negotiations with local armed groups failed,” he said. “They suffered heavy losses,” he added as quoted from Reuters, Thursday (2/9/2021).

Also read: Battle Breaks in Panjshir Valley, 8 Taliban Troops Stretch Lives

But a spokesman for the Afghan National Resistance Front, an insurgent group, said they had complete control over all roads and entrances and had successfully repelled attempts to seize Shotul district at the entrance of the valley.

“The enemy made several attempts to enter Shotul from Jabul-Saraj, and failed each time,” he said, referring to a town in neighboring Parwan province.

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