Afghanistan: Taliban announce counter-attack in Banshir Valley

Air emissions continue In a chaotic situation At Kabul Airport, The Taliban in power Banshir Valley announced on Sunday that it would launch a major offensive against the only area still opposing them. The Taliban said on their Arab Twitter account that “hundreds of mujahideen in the Islamic Emirate are moving to the state of Banshir to control it because local authorities have refused to hand it over peacefully.”

The Taliban entered Kabul on August 15 without facing opposition, following a lightning strike that began in May after US and NATO forces began to withdraw. A A pocket of resistance is forming in the Panshir Valley, northeast of Kabul, Has long been known as a stronghold against the Taliban. The National Opposition Front (FNR), particularly led by Ahmed Masood, was assassinated in 2001 by al-Qaeda, the son of General Ahmed Shah Masood.

“The Lion of the Panzer”

FNR spokesman Ali Maisam Nassari told the AFP that the front was preparing for a “protracted conflict” with the Taliban. According to him, thousands of Afghans fought against the new regime in the Banshir Valley. Photographs taken by AFP during training sessions show armored vehicles running through the valley.

If the Taliban continue like this, it will not last. We are ready to defend Afghanistan and warn against bloodshed, ”Masood told Al-Arabiya channel on Sunday. In 1997, Ahmad Shah Masood, the famous warrior “The Lion of Banshir”, exploded the Salang tunnel, which was built during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979-1989), thus closing the front door of the valley from the south. Despite several attempts, the Taliban did not succeed in capturing Panshir.