Taliban claims it took Panjshir, last holdout province

By Kathy Gannon | Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban said Monday they seized the past state not successful their power aft their blitz done Afghanistan past month, overrunning forces who had opposed their takeover.

Thousands of Taliban fighters charged into 8 districts of Panjshir state overnight, according to witnesses from the country who spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they feared for their safety. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that the province, which is northbound of the capital, was present held by their fighters.

“We tried our champion to lick the occupation done negotiations, and they rejected talks and past we had to nonstop our forces to fight,” Mujahid told a quality league successful Kabul aboriginal Monday.

The resisting forces were led by the erstwhile vice president, Amrullah Saleh, and besides the lad of the iconic anti-Taliban combatant Ahmad Shah Massoud. Experts had doubted that the holdout efforts could win semipermanent against the Taliban, whose accelerated beforehand done Afghanistan met small absorption successful the last days of America’s 20-year warfare successful the country.

The U.S. withdrew its past troops a week agone and ended a harrowing airlift to evacuate Western citizens and their Afghan allies that was marred by scenes of desperation and horrific violence.

During that evacuation, thousands of radical descended connected Kabul’s airport, hoping to fly the state due to the fact that they feared what the Taliban’s regularisation mightiness hold, fixed their past of repression, peculiarly of women. At 1 point, an Islamic State termination bomber targeted the crowds, sidesplitting 169 Afghans and 13 American work members.

Many radical are inactive hoping to permission the country, but with Kabul’s airdrome not yet moving planetary flights, their choices are few. In the country’s north, officials said Sunday that astatine slightest 4 planes chartered to evacuate respective 100 radical person been incapable to permission the state for days. But determination were conflicting accounts astir why.

The U.S. is nether unit to assistance the remaining Americans and greenish paper holders permission the country, and it has promised to enactment with the caller Taliban rulers bash that — but it has fixed nary timeframe.

An Afghan authoritative astatine the airdrome successful the bluish metropolis of Mazar-e-Sharif said that the would-be passengers were Afghans, galore of whom did not person passports oregon visas, and frankincense were incapable to leave. Speaking connected information of anonymity due to the fact that helium was not authorized to speech to reporters, helium said they had near the airdrome portion the concern was being sorted out.

But the apical Republican connected the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee said that the radical included Americans and that they had boarded planes but the Taliban were not letting them instrumentality off, efficaciously “holding them hostage.” Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas told “Fox News Sunday” that American citizens and Afghan interpreters were being kept connected six planes.

He did not accidental wherever that accusation came from, and it was not instantly imaginable to reconcile the 2 accounts. The State Department has said it has nary reliable mode to corroborate accusation astir specified charter flights.

But the U.S. has helped a household of 4 American citizens to fly done an overland route, according to American official. The official, who spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to talk publically owed to the sensitivity of the matter, would not springiness details of the evacuation oregon accidental which state they went to.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are traveling to the Persian Gulf and Europe this week to sermon Afghanistan.

President Joe Biden was asked Monday nighttime arsenic helium returned to the White House whether helium would admit the Taliban government. “That’s a agelong mode off. That’s a agelong mode off,” helium said.

Meanwhile, the Taliban accidental they are moving to repair Kabul’s airport, wherever lone home flights person resumed and conscionable during the time for now. Mujahid, the group’s spokesman, told reporters Monday that American soldiers destroyed instrumentality earlier departing, including the captious radar system. The U.S. has said troops destroyed subject instrumentality but near instrumentality utile for moving a civilian airport, similar occurrence trucks.

Technical experts from Qatar and Turkey person begun repairs, though it’s not wide erstwhile the airdrome volition beryllium up and running.

The Taliban person pledged to let anyone with the due ineligible documents to permission the state — and respective countries person said they are watching intimately to spot if the caller rulers marque bully connected that pledge. The Taliban person mostly promised to govern much moderately than erstwhile they were past successful powerfulness successful the precocious 1990s and became planetary pariahs for their harsh mentation of Islamic instrumentality and restrictions connected women.

Still, experts did not deliberation the anti-Taliban fighters successful Panjshir, the past holdout province, had overmuch of a chance, adjacent fixed the area’s geographical advantage.

Nestled successful the towering Hindu Kush mountains, the Panjshir Valley has a azygous constrictive entrance. Local fighters held disconnected the Soviets determination successful the 1980s and also, for a little time, the Taliban a decennary aboriginal nether the enactment of Massoud.

Massoud’s lad Ahmad called for an extremity to the warring connected Sunday. The young British-schooled Massoud said his forces were acceptable to laic down their weapons but lone if the Taliban agreed to extremity their assault. Late connected Sunday dozens of vehicles loaded with Taliban fighters were seen swarming into the Panjshir Valley.

In a 2nd connection Monday, a now-defiant Massoud accused the Taliban of attacking adjacent arsenic they were acceptable to hold to a cease-fire. He vowed to combat on, urged Afghans to articulation successful their conflict against the Taliban and chastised the planetary assemblage for giving the Taliban a level by opening negotiations with them.

There has been nary connection from Saleh, Afghanistan’s erstwhile vice president who had declared himself the acting president aft President Ashraf Ghani fled the state connected Aug. 15 arsenic the Taliban reached the gates of the capital.

The whereabouts of Saleh and the young Massoud were not instantly known Monday.

Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, sought to guarantee residents of Panjshir that they would beryllium harmless — adjacent arsenic scores of families reportedly fled into the mountains up of the Taliban’s arrival.”There is nary request for immoderate much fighting,” Mujahid said astatine the quality conference. “All Panjshir radical and those who unrecorded successful Panjshir are our brothers and they are portion of our country.”

The Taliban had stepped up their battle connected Panjshir connected Sunday, tweeting that their forces overran Rokha district, 1 of the largest successful the province.

Mujahid besides told reporters that the Taliban would denote a caller authorities “within days” — 1 that would beryllium inclusive, helium said, without elaborating. Once the authorities is formed, members of the erstwhile Afghan service and information forces would beryllium asked to instrumentality to enactment to signifier an service with Taliban fighters, helium added.

Asked what rights women would person nether the Taliban, Mujahid promised each women would yet beryllium “asked to return” to their jobs.

The Taliban person claimed unspecified “security reasons” are down the existent dilatory gait of instrumentality of Afghan women to their workplaces and besides down restricting women to their homes, unless accompanied by a antheral guardian. But galore who retrieve their erstwhile regularisation are skeptical.

Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez successful Istanbul and Matthew Lee successful Washington contributed to this report.