Fighting Rages in Afghanistan’s Contested Panjshir Valley

Both sides claim the other took heavy casualties

Two days of fighting between the Taliban and the remnant resistance in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley continues to rage, with the Taliban pushing back into Baghlan districts, and civilians fleeing the area.

Both sides are claiming heavy casualties inflicted on the other. The Taliban did not provide numbers, but the resistance said they’d killed 40 Taliban and wounded another 35 since fighting began Monday night.

Both sides are also disputing who started this latest round of fighting, each claiming the other side attacked first. The Taliban added that talks have failed so far, but that they still want to resolve this peacefully. Other Taliban, however, suggested that the negotiations are over and were a failure.

The Panjshir Valley resistance is the remnants of the Afghan military and allied militias from the Ghani government, which fell last month. The group has promised to resist, and have even reclaimed some sparsely populated districts in the area.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.