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Panjshir petrol station8/31/2023 ![]() This week, Panjshir fighters held military training in a show of force, with men carrying heavy logs on their shoulders crossing chest-deep icy rivers.Ībove their armoured vehicles and over their bases fluttered their flag, a challenge to the Taliban's white banner now hauled up across the rest of the country. The valley has limited entry points and its geography offers a natural military advantage - defending units can use high positions to effectively target attacking forces. we will continue to defend it," one fighter said.Īhmad Massoud, one of the NRF's leaders, is the son of the late guerrilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was dubbed the "Lion of Panjshir" for holding out, first against Soviet and then Taliban forces. "We defended it during the era of the Russians, the era of the British, the previous era of the Taliban. The Panjshir has immense symbolic value in Afghanistan as the area that has resisted occupation by invaders. "By the grace of God, luck wasn't on their side."ĭashti reported seven or eight Taliban fighters were killed in Monday's clashes along with one or two resistance fighters. "Perhaps they wanted to try their luck," NRF official Fahim Dashti said in a video posted Tuesday by the US broadcaster Voice of America's Dari language service. "From the youngest to the oldest, they all talk about resistance."Īs the last US soldiers boarded their flight out of Afghanistan in the Kabul dark late Monday, residents of Panjshir said the Taliban had attacked the valley on two fronts - the Khawak pass in the west, and from Shotol to the south. "Everyone has a weapon on their shoulder and ready to fire," another said. "We are ready to defend it till the last drop of our blood," said one resident. Residents and fighters in Panjshir, many of whom fought the Taliban when they were last in power from 1996 to 2001, offered a defiant message. "Last night the Taliban terrorists attacked Panjshir, but were defeated," Mohammadi tweeted Wednesday, claiming 34 Taliban were killed and 65 wounded. "Those who want to fight, tell them it is enough."īismillah Mohammadi, Afghanistan's defence minister before the government fell last month, said the Taliban had launched a renewed assault on Panjshir on Tuesday night. ![]() "Now it is up to you to talk to them," the Taliban message to the Panjshir people said. ![]() "Now that the talks have failed and Mujahiddin (Taliban) have surrounded Panjshir, there are still people inside that don't want the problems to be solved peacefully," he added. but unfortunately all in vain," senior Taliban official Amir Khan Muttaqi said, in an audio message to the people of the Panjshir posted on Twitter. "My brothers, we tried our best to solve the Panjshir problem with talks and negotiations. ![]()
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