Taliban Claim to Have Killed 40 Insurgents

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Facts

  • The Taliban announced on Tuesday that it has killed 40 members of a rebel force - including four commanders - in the northern Afghanistan province of Panjshir, a region known for the presence of resistance groups.1
  • Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid declared that, in addition to those killed, 100 have been arrested following 'a clearance operation against rebels in Rekha, Dara and Afshar (areas) of Panjshir province.'1
  • This comes despite the Taliban in the past denying widespread fighting in Panjshir and claiming that the National Resistance Front (NRF) was an 'opposition force existing merely in social media.'2
  • The NRF, however, accused the Taliban of inflating the number of fighters killed, claiming that only a small group was captured.1
  • It also stated that its offensive against the Taliban, which was launched in May, would continue across 12 provinces where its forces allegedly have a foothold, mostly in the north.3
  • Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the NRF has retreated to the Panjshir Valley, where resistance forces gathered to fight against the USSR and the Taliban in the past.3

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2VOA and 3Arab News.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by VOA. Resistance against the Taliban is growing, thus why the group has found it necessary to increase its activity in the Panjshir valley, where the NRF is most present. The insurgency against the Taliban will continue to expand, as more and more Afghans become fed up with their harsh rule. The Panjshir valley has been a focal point of Afghan resistance since the Soviet occupation, and it will continue to be a hotbed of opposition.
  • Narrative B, as provided by France24. Though some would have you believe that the NRF can put up serious resistance to the Taliban, this is simply not the case. The NRF's current leader is not his father, and unlike the resistance to the Taliban in the 1990s, the NRF cannot even hold strategic territory like it once did. Even with growing resentment against the Taliban, the armed resistance has little chance at defeating the group.