For the first time, the Taliban admitted of the clashes in the Andarab valley in the Baghlan province, northeast of Afghanistan.
“At least three key Panjshir militia commanders have been killed in the Andarab area of Baghlan province,” Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Qari Sayed Khosti said on October 15. He did not give any other details.
The representatives of the anti-Taliban National Resistance Front (FTS) said that the radicals, with the help of Pakistani aviation, managed to capture only the main Panjshir gorge. All other 23 gorges in the region are under the control of the Front. The FTS also stated that it organized, along with the Panjshiris, an armed resistance to the Taliban in the Andarab Valley in the neighbouring province of Baghlan.
On Friday, several sources close to the National Resistance Front reported on the ongoing battles of the Taliban with the FTS in Andarab since the morning. The clashes took place on the territory of the Puli-Hisar and Dih-Salah counties of the Baghlan province. The Taliban, having lost more than 60 people killed, retreated, and the death of two field commanders of the FTS was also reported.
The Taliban Defense Ministry announced that Ataullah Omari had been appointed commander of the Mazar-i-Sharif corps. The corps headquarters is located on the base of the former 209th corps of the Afghan national army “Shahin” in the suburbs of Mazar-i-Sharif, the centre of Balkh province and was responsible for security in the north of the country.
September 3rd attack
On September 3, FTS announced that it had taken control of the city of Charikar, the centre of Parwan province north of Kabul. The Taliban suffered heavy losses as a result of the fighting in Panjshir.
Front representatives tweeted that the previous night the Taliban continued their assault on the Panjshir Valley from several directions: from the Khavak pass, through the Andarab valley, from the Salang Pass, in the Shotul district, and also from the city of Gulbahor, Parwan province. According to them, before the start of the assault, the Taliban forced the companies to turn off the Panjsher’s communications and Internet services and the supply of electricity.
In all three areas, the tweets noted, the Taliban suffered heavy casualties, with dozens of militant bodies remaining on the battlefield. Several dozen radicals surrendered, and there were also casualties among the frontline fighters.
At the Khovak pass, the Taliban lost at least 100 people, the group in Shotul district was completely defeated, and the group in the Salang region was blocked, as per FTS.
The successes of the forces of resistance forces in other provinces
During the counterattack, the Front fighters managed to push the Taliban out of the city of Charikar, and the centre of the province of Parwan was taken under control. It is also reported that supporters of Ahmad Massoud, who heads the anti-Taliban Front, managed to recapture four districts from the Taliban in Badakhshan province. Front representatives reported on social networks about clashes with radicals in the province of Takhar, including in the Khwaja-Ghar district, which is close to the border with Tajikistan.
According to local media reports, this became possible after the Taliban suffered heavy losses in the battles against Panjshir and were forced to withdraw additional forces from Badakhshan, Takhar, and Kunduz, weakening their positions in this direction these provinces.
Al-Qaeda involvement
On September 2, the Taliban had released videos of alleged fighters of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda leaving Kabul in the direction of Panjshir.