Afghanistan:
As Taliban and opposition forces continue to battle to control the valley of Panjshir in Afghanistan which lies in the north of Kabul, the National Resistance Front (NRF) claims to have captured hundreds of Taliban troops, Al Jazeera reported.
The National Resistance Front (NRF) of Afghanistan, grouping forces loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, said on Sunday that it surrounded “thousands of terrorists” in Khawak Pass and the Taliban abandoned vehicles and equipment in the Dashte Rewak area.
“Heavy clashes” were going on,” NRF spokesman Fahim Dashti added.
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, based in the capital Kabul, reported sources on the ground said hundreds of Taliban fighters had been taken prisoner on Sunday.
“Sources within the valley are saying the NRF are claiming to have captured about 1,500 Taliban.
Apparently, these fighters were surrounded,” said Stratford. Dashti wrote on Twitter that Paryan district had been completely emptied of Taliban fighters.
“Nearly 1,000 Taliban fighters were either killed, wounded, or taken captive after the exit route behind them was closed off,” Dashti said.
But the information could not be verified independently.
Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said on Twitter on Sunday its forces seized five of the province’s seven districts. Karimi said Khinj and Unabah districts had been taken, he said.
“The Mujahideen [Taliban fighters] are advancing toward the centre [of the province],” he wrote. Panjshir is the last Afghan province holding out against the armed group that swept to power last month.
Both sides claimed to have the upper hand in Panjshir but neither could produce conclusive evidence to prove it. The Taliban was unable to control the valley when it ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
