Afghanistan news: Taliban’s Panjshir victory contested as Blair says invasion was ‘maybe naïve’
Follow developments from Monday below
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Your support makes all the difference.The Taliban’s claim to be in total control of Afghanistan’s Panjshir province has been disputed by the National Resistance Front (NRF), which condemned the declaration as “false”.
A Taliban spokesman on Monday declared victory for the Islamist group, saying it meant “our country is completely taken out of the quagmire of war”. However, resistance fighters swiftly said they were still present in “all strategic positions” and “continue to fight”.
Images on social media appeared to back up the Taliban’s version of events, though.
Meanwhile, Tony Blair has conceded Western forces acted with some naivety during the invasion of Afghanistan two decades ago. But despite being unrealistic about how the country could be remade by foreign occupation, the former prime minister, who ordered British soldiers into the country in 2001, said he continued to believe in liberal intervention.
In a speech this morning, Mr Blair said the chaos that saw tens of thousands flee its returning theocratic rulers showed people identified with Western liberal values no matter where they lived.
Sign The Independent’s petition urging the UK to take in more refugees from Afghanistan here.
Good morning, and welcome to The Independent’s rolling coverage of Afghanistan. Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates.
Top Republican says Taliban holding Americans ‘hostage’ at Mazar-e-Sharif airport
Representative Michael McCaul of Texas has claimed that there are six airplanes at the Mazar-e-Sharif airport with American citizens and Afghan interpreters on board which the Taliban are “holding them hostage” right now.
A worker at the Mazar-e-Sharif airport has also confirmed that several planes are parked at the airport and Taliban is holding them leaving. The worker said Taliban wanted to check the passengers document.
Speaking to “Fox News Sunday,” McCaul accused the Taliban of making demands and said the planes have been at the airport for “last couple of days”.
“They’re going to demand more and more, whether it be cash or legitimacy as the government of Afghanistan,” he said.
National Resistance Front spokesman Fahim Dashti killed
National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has said in a tweet that the militia group’s spokesman Fahim Dashty and General Abdul Wudod Zara were killed in the fighting.
Dashty was advicing group’s leader Ahmad Massoud at the time of his assassination, according to media reports.
Panjshir valley ‘completely captured’: Taliban
Taliban has claimed that the Panjshir Valley is “completely” in control of the group after days of fierce fighting against the National Resistance Force of Afghanistan.
“With this victory, our country is completely taken out of the quagmire of war,” Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
Pictures on social media showed Taliban members standing in front of the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor’s compound.
Taliban spokesperson says group in complete control of Panjshir province in Afghanistan: report
The Taliban has taken complete control of Panjshir province in Afghanistan, according to the Islamist militant group’s spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, Reuters reported on Monday.
The province was the last remaining stronghold against the Taliban in the country.
Read The Independent’s detailed report here:
Taliban has captured Panjshir province in Afghanistan, claims spokesperson
The Taliban has taken complete control of Panjshir province
Taliban allegedly shoot dead pregnant Afghan police officer
An Afghan police officer, named in local media as Banu Negar, has allegedly been shot dead by a Taliban militant in Firozkoh, the capital of central Ghor province.
The Taliban has denied the involvement in the killing and said they are investigating the matter.
The militants of the Islamist group allegedly beat her and shot her in front of her family members at her home on Saturday, three sources told the BBC.
Graphic images, shown by Ms Negar’s relatives, showed blood on a wall of a house and a body with the face disfigured.
According to the family, Ms Negar, who worked at the local prison, was eight months pregnant, reports the BBC.
Three gunmen are said to have arrived at the house on Saturday and searched it before tying members of the family up.
Flights with US citizens held up in Afghanistan as confusion reigns after withdrawal
A group of American citizens and were reportedly trapped in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Sunday without permission to take off from Taliban officials, as it remains unclear whether the militant group currently has the ability to facilitate international flights.
In a letter to members of Congress from the State Department obtained by CBS News, the agency confirmed that multiple charter flights were waiting to take off from Mazar-i-Sharif’s international airport but had yet to receive permission to do so from local Taliban authorities.
Read John Bowden’s detailed report here:
Flights with US citizens held up in Afghanistan as confusion reigns after withdrawal
State Department email to Congress blames Taliban, while reports indicate that Afghanistan’s airspace is uncontrolled
NRF says Taliban’s claim of occupying Panjshir ‘false'
National Resistance force has denied Taliban’s claims of taking full control of Panjshir valley.
The NRF said in a tweet that their forces are still holding all strategic positions across the valley and the battle is going on continue.
“We assure the ppl of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban & their partners will continue until justice & freedom prevails,” it said.
Earlier today, Taliban claimed that their forces have “completely captured” the Panjshir valley.
British veterans have ‘taken their own lives in last week’ over Afghanistan chaos, says minister
Some British military veterans who took part in the Afghan war have reportedly taken their own lives over the ongoing fallout from the US’ decision to withdrawal troops from the nation, a junior defence minister has claimed.
Former veteran James Heappey, who now works for the Ministry of Defence (MoD), told Sky News that “a soldier who served on my last tour in Afghanistan [is one of those] who’ve taken their own lives in the last week or so because of, erm, the feelings over what’s happened in Afghanistan.”
He added: “That os hugely concerning and upsetting ... the veterans community is hurting.”
Mr Heappey also said he was hearing the Taliban was now in control of the whole of Afghanistan, but that the situation in Panjshir did not change the big picture.
It comes after the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) described the Taliban’s claim about taking the the final pocket of territory which has remained outside their rule as “false”.
NRF spokesperson killed during Panjshir fighting - report
A spokesperson of Afghanistan’s resistance movement was killed during fighting with the Taliban in Panjshir valley, according to various reports.
Fahim Dashti, part of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), and three other leaders of the anti-Taliban group were killed on Sunday during the clashes.
A page on Facebook affiliated with the resistance movement put out a statement saying: “With deep regret, we lost two dear brothers and colleagues and fighters today. Fahim Dashti, the head of the office of Amir Saheb Ahmad Masoud, and General Sahib Abdul Wadood Zhor, the nephew of the national hero of Afghanistan in the battle against the fascist group.”
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar has the full report:
Spokesperson of Afghanistan’s resistance front killed during Panjshir fighting
Fahim Dashti was killed in clashes after the fighting in Panjshir valley escalated over the weekend
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