Afghanistan, Panjshir:
The Taliban has claimed victory over opposition forces in the last holdout province of Panjshir (northeast of Kabul) completing their takeover of Afghanistan three weeks after capturing Kabul, Al Jazeera reported.
“With this victory, our country is completely taken out of the quagmire of war,” chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Monday.
The Taliban have assured the people of Panjshir, who are ethnically distinct from the Pashtun-dominated Taliban and fought against the Islamists during their rule from 1996 to 2001, that there would be no "discriminatory act against them".
"They are our brothers and would work together for a joint purpose and welfare of the country," Mujahid said.
However, the anti-Taliban National Resistance Front (NRF), pledged to carry on fighting in Panjshir Valley, saying it is present in “strategic positions” and that “the struggle against the Taliban… will continue”.
Prior to the Taliban announcement, the NRF had acknowledged suffering considerable battlefield losses and called for a ceasefire.
