Afghanistan: Taliban take control of the country after the withdrawal of US-led foreign troops.
Kabul:
Taliban forces have recaptured three districts in northern Afghanistan held by local militias last week, a spokesman said Monday.
Bano, Deh Saleh, Pul e-Hesar districts in Baghlan province were taken by local militias in one of the first signs of armed resistance against the Taliban since their capture of the capital Kabul on August 15.
On Monday, Taliban forces had cleared the districts and were located in Badakhshan, Takhar and Andarab near the Panjshir Valley, according to spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid’s Twitter account.
Forces loyal to Ahmad Massoud, son of anti-Soviet mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, have established themselves in the Panjshir Valley, a mountainous region northwest of Kabul that resisted the Taliban before 2001.
Massoud, whose forces include remnants of the regular army and special forces, has called for negotiations to form an inclusive government for Afghanistan but has pledged to resist https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific /anti-Taliban-leader-massoud-says-negotiation-only-way-forward-2021-08-22 as Taliban forces attempt to enter the valley.
Late Sunday, the Taliban’s Alemarah Information Service said hundreds of fighters were headed for Panjshir, but there is no immediate confirmation of fighting.
Zabihullah Mujahid said the Salang Pass, on the main road running north from southern Afghanistan, was open and enemy forces were blocked in the Panjshir Valley. But his statement suggested there was no fighting at this time.
“The Islamic Emirate is trying to resolve the problems peacefully,” Zabihullah said.
(This story was not edited by NewsMadura staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)