(Dubai) The Taliban announced, on Sunday, that “hundreds” of its fighters are heading to the Banshir Valley, northeast of Kabul, one of the few areas in Afghanistan that is still outside the control of the Islamic group.
“Hundreds of mujahideen in the Islamic Emirate are heading to Panjshir to control it after local officials refused to hand it over peacefully,” the Taliban said on its Arabic account on Twitter.
The Taliban entered the capital, Kabul, on August 15 without encountering much resistance, following a blunder attack that began in May after the withdrawal of US and NATO forces began.
An enclave of resistance has formed in the Panjshir Valley, long known as an anti-Taliban stronghold. The National Resistance Front (FNR) is led in particular by Ahmed Massoud, son of the leader Ahmed Shah Massoud, who was assassinated in 2001 by the al-Qaeda jihadist group.
Photo by Mohamed Ismail/Reuters
Ahmed Massoud, son of the leader, Ahmed Shah Massoud, was assassinated in 2001 by the jihadist al-Qaeda organization
A spokesman for the National Resistance Front said the group was preparing for a “prolonged conflict” with the Taliban if it failed to negotiate with them to form an inclusive government.
According to this official, Ali Maysam Nazari, thousands of Afghans have joined the Panjshir Valley to fight the new regime.
Pictures taken by AFP during the exercises show armored vehicles driving through the valley northeast of Kabul.
The Taliban will not last if they continue like this. “We are ready to defend Afghanistan and warn of a bloodbath,” Massoud told Al Arabiya television on Sunday.