Afghanistan: Reports Of Taliban Sending Troops To Fight Panjshir Resistance Led By Amrullah Saleh, Ahmad Massoud

The Taliban on August 22 said it is sending its fighters to the Panjshir Valley, reported AFP. Panjshir Valley is one of the few parts of Afghanistan not yet controlled by the group. Since the group took over Afghanistan on August 15, some ex-government troops have been gathering in the Panjshir valley to resist the Taliban. Panjshir valley, north of Kabul, is long known as an anti-Taliban bastion. The Taliban said on August 22 that "hundreds" of its fighters were heading to the Panjshir Valley. In Panjshir, Ahmad Massoud has sought to assemble a force of around 9,000 people to counter the terrorists, the spokesman, Ali Maisam Nazary, told AFP. Ahmad Massoud is the son of mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud who was assassinated by Al-Qaeda two days before the September 11, 2001 attacks. Amrullah Saleh, former first Vice President of Afghanistan who has declared himself as the acting president of the country, tweeted, “Talibs have massed forces near the entrance of Panjshir.”