Taliban District Chief, 50 Terrorists killed In Fight With Resistance Forces

(This was originally posted in India Today)

Severe clashes between the Taliban men and resistance fighters continue in the Andarab region. Sources informed Taliban’s Banu district chief was reportedly killed along with three of his companions. In an ambush in the Fajr region of Afghanistan, 50 Taliban insurgents were reportedly killed and 20 others were taken, prisoner. Meanwhile, one member of the resistance was killed and six were wounded. Till last reports came in, Taliban fighters had encircled central Panjshir province and were striving to resolve the issue through talks.

Taliban recapture three fallen districts

A Reuters report claimed that Taliban forces have recaptured three districts in northern Afghanistan that fell to local militia groups last week, a spokesman said on Monday. The districts of Bano, Deh Saleh, Pul e-Hesar in Baghlan province were taken by local militia groups in one of the first signs of armed resistance to the Taliban since their seizure of the capital Kabul on August 15.

By Monday, Taliban forces had cleared the districts and were established in Badakhshan, Takhar and Andarab near the Panjshir valley, according to the Twitter account of spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. Forces loyal to Ahmad Massoud, son of the anti-Soviet mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, have established themselves in the Panjshir valley, a mountainous area northwest of Kabul, which resisted the Taliban before 2001.

Massoud, whose forces include remnants of regular army and special forces units, has called for negotiations to form an inclusive government for Afghanistan but has promised to resist if Taliban forces try to enter the valley. Late on Sunday, the Taliban’s Alemarah information service said hundreds of fighters were heading towards Panjshir but there has been no immediate confirmation of any fighting.

Zabihullah Mujahid said the Salang Pass, on the main highway running from southern Afghanistan to the north, was open and enemy forces, were blockaded in the Panjshir valley. But his statement suggested that there was no fighting for the moment. “The Islamic Emirate is trying to resolve the problems peacefully,” Zabihullah said.