CELEBRATORY FIRE KILLS 17 AS TALIBAN CLAIM PANJSHIR HAS FALLEN TOO
Reports say Taliban and resistance forces continued fighting for control of Panjshir valley on Saturday
KABUL: Taliban and opposition forces were fighting on Saturday for control of the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, the last province in Afghanistan holding out against the Islamist group, according to reports.
At least 17 people were killed in celebratory gunfire in Kabul after Taliban sources said on Friday its fighters had taken the valley, although the resistance denied it had fallen.
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, which groups opposition forces loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, said, “The defence of the stronghold of Afghanistan is unbreakable.”
A Taliban source said fighting was continuing in Panjshir but the group’s advance was slowed by landmines placed on the road to the capita.
KABUL: Taliban and opposition forces were fighting on Saturday for control of the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, the last province in Afghanistan holding out against the hardline Islamist group, according to reports.
Taliban sources said on Friday the group’s fighters had taken the valley, although the opposition denied it had fallen.
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, which groups opposition forces loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, said Taliban forces reached the Darband heights on the border between Kapisa province and Panjshir but were pushed back.
“The defence of the stronghold of Afghanistan is unbreakable,” Front spokesman Fahim Dashty said in a tweet.
In a Facebook post, Massoud insisted his forces would resist and said Panjshir “continues to stand strongly in the fight”.
A Taliban source said fighting was continuing in Panjshir but the advance was slowed by landmines placed on the road to the capital Bazarak and the provincial governor’s compound.
Unconfirmed reports in the local media said that at least 17
people were killed and 41 injured in the celebratory gunfire all over Kabul on Friday as news spread of the Taliban’s takeover of Panjshir. The Emergency Hospital in Kabul said two people were killed and 20 wounded by the salvos.
Pak spy chief in Kabul
Pakistan’s spy chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed flew into
Kabul on Saturday, sources in both capitals said.
It was not clear what his agenda was, but a senior official in Pakistan had said earlier in the week that Hameed, who heads the Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) agency, could help the Taliban reorganise the Afghan military.
Washington has accused Pakistan and the ISI of backing the
Taliban in the group’s two-decade fight against the Us-backed government in Kabul. Islamabad has denied the charges.
New government to be announced next week
The Taliban source also said the announcement of a new government would be pushed back to the next week.
Taliban co-founder Mullah
Abdul Ghani Baradar, reported by some Taliban sources to be in line to lead the new government, said in remarks on Qatar’s Al Jazeera channel that the new administration “will include all factions of the Afghan people”.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s ambassador to Afghanistan said a technical team was able to reopen Kabul airport to receive aid, according to Al Jazeera news.