JOIN US600 Taliban fighters killed in Afghanistan's Panjshir: Report
As many as 600 Taliban fighters were killed in Afghanistan's Pansjhir province, Sputnik reported quoting anti-Taliban resistance forces
The northeastern province of Panjshir, the last remaining holdout from the Taliban, witnessed a fierce battle between the Taliban fighters and the resistance forces. Videos circulating on social media show persistent gun firing in the region, with the Taliban claiming to have captured some parts.
"About 600 Taliban have been liquidated in various districts of Panjshir since morning. More than 1,000 Taliban have been captured or surrendered themselves," the resistance forces' spokesperson Fahim Dashti reportedly wrote on Twitter.
However, the death toll on either side remains unverified on Sunday, as the Taliban prepares to form a government in Afghanistan in the coming days.
The spokesperson further said that the Taliban had difficulty gathering resources from other Afghan provinces, while a Taliban official reportedly said the land mines on the road to Bazarak and provincial governor's compound have slowed down their onslaught.
National Resistance Front, led by Ahmad Masood, son of Afghan commander Ahmad Shah Masood, and vice-president Amrullah Saleh, remains strong in the mountainous valleys of Panjshir, nearly 80 km north of Kabul. Panjshir is famous for leading a mujahideen-resistance against occupations, like the Soviets' during the 1980s, and they had even successfully kept the Taliban out during the 1996-2001 rule, before the US invasion.
It largely consists of local militia and former Afghan forces who have vowed resistance against the Taliban at all costs. Saleh has sought foreign intervention and support to proactively resist the Taliban in the country.