Armed Afghans reclaim three districts in first major display of resistance since Taliban's Kabul takeover

Three districts were seized by the Taliban by armed Afghan resistance forces. This was the first successful uprising in Afghanistan against the Taliban since Sunday's capture of Kabul, the capital.
The Defense Minister General Bismillah Mohammadi has sworn that he would resist the Taliban. He tweeted Friday that the district of Deh Salah and Banu in Baghlan, to the north from Panjshir, had been reclaimed. Although the identities of the forces involved in this resistance group are not yet known, it marked the first significant armed rebuke to the Taliban's rapid dominance of Kabul.

Ghani Andarabi was a former commander of the local police and claimed that Baghlan's Banu district was under control by local militia forces. He also said that there had been heavy casualties to "the Taliban," according Tolo News.

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"Three districts were liberated with the help of God and mujahideen. We are now moving towards Khinjan district, and will clear Baghlan soon," Assadullah (Banu's ex-police chief) said.

The outlet reported that there are unconfirmed reports that the Taliban are planning to seize the districts from resistance fighters.

Ahmad Massoud's son, a former anti-Soviet mujahedeen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud said that there were over 6,000 fighters made up of remnants from military units and local militia groups in the Panjshir Valley. They claim they have military vehicles and helicopters that were left over from the Soviet occupation in the country between 1979-1989.

According to Reuters, Taliban officials have not made any comments on the matter.

According to local Afghan news outlets, sources claimed that the Taliban had entered Baghlan and began house-to-house search operations.

Panjshir's resistance to militant groups does not seem to be linked to the demonstrations in Kabul and other eastern cities earlier in the week, where nonviolent protesters marched on the streets and raised the flag for the former Afghan government.

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After the Taliban overtook the government on Sunday and took Kabul, the Taliban spent the week strengthening their capital of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Taliban still control 33 of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan. According to Wall Street Journal, the Taliban held 222 of Afghanistan’s 421 districts as of Monday.

In the meantime, British and American military forces control Kabul's international Airport. There, efforts to evacuate U.S. citizens and U.S.-aligned Afghan Allies continue, despite possible security threats that were outlined by U.S Embassy on Saturday.

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Tags: News Afghanistan, Taliban, National Security and Foreign Policy

Original Author: Kaelan deese

Original Location: Three districts reclaimed by armed Afghans in the first major resistance act since Taliban's takeover of Kabul