Afghanistan:Taliban says Panjshir captured

The Taliban said Monday they had captured the last pocket of resistance in Afghanistan the Panjshir Valley, even as opposition fighters vowed to keep up their struggle against the hardline Islamists. They also said that any insurgency against their rule would be "hit hard". "With this victory, our country is completely taken out of the quagmire of war," chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. An image posted on social media by the Taliban showed its fighters at the governor's office of Panjshir province. Asvaka news agency on Twitter posted a video can be seen  armed Talibanis entering the Governor's house in Panjshir province and hoisting their flag.

#Panjshir
In this Footage you can see the presence of the #Taliban in the Governor house & different areas of the province. pic.twitter.com/QqRenzixlp

— Aśvaka - News Agency (@AsvakaNews) September 6, 2021

However, the National Resistance Front (NRF) -- made up of anti-Taliban militia and former Afghan security forces -- said its fighters were still present in "strategic positions" across the valley, and that they were continuing the struggle."We assure the people of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban and their partners will continue until justice and freedom prevails," the NRF tweeted.

Taliban’s claim of occupying Panjshir is false. The NRF forces are present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight. We assure the ppl of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban & their partners will continue until justice & freedom prevails.

— National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (@nrfafg) September 6, 2021

The NRF had vowed to fight the Taliban but also said it was willing to negotiate with the Islamists. But initial contact did not lead to a breakthrough.The Panjshir Valley is famed for being the site of resistance to Soviet forces in the 1980s and the Taliban in the late 1990s.