In Panjshir, Afghanistan, anti-Taliban forces are fighting

In Panjshir, Afghanistan, anti-Taliban forces are fighting

The Taliban on Wednesday called for the downfall of a stronghold in the Banjshir Valley as opposition militants claimed they had repelled heavy attacks.

About 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital, Kabul, a rugged mountain valley with high snow-capped peaks is the center of Afghanistan's main anti-Taliban forces.

The National Resistance Front (NRF), which includes anti-Taliban militants and former Afghan security forces, has promised to protect the area as the Islamic group sends militants around the area.

"My brothers, we tried our best to resolve the  Panjshir issue through talk and negotiations ... but unfortunately everything was in vain," senior Taliban official Amir Khan Muttaqi said said in an audio message to the Panshir people on Twitter.

"Now that the talks have failed and the Mujahiddin (Taliban) are encircling Punjab, there are still people inside who do not want the problems to be resolved peacefully," he added.

"Talking to them now is yours," the Taliban news agency told Panjshir. "Those who want to fight, say enough is enough."

Before the fall of the government last month, Afghanistan's defense minister, Bismillah Mohammadi, said the Taliban had resumed attacks on Punjab on Tuesday night.

"Taliban terrorists attacked panjshir last night, but were defeated," Mohammed tweeted on Wednesday, killing 34 Taliban and wounding 65 others.

As the last U.S. soldiers boarded their plane from Afghanistan in the dark in Kabul on Monday, Panjshir residents attacked the Taliban valley at two ends - Khawak pass in the west, and from Shotol to the south.

Dashti said seven or eight Taliban militants were killed along with one or two opposition militants in clashes.

Ahmed Masood, one of the leaders of the NRF, was the son of the late guerrilla commander Ahmad Shah Masood, first known as the "Punchshir Lion" against the Soviet and later Taliban forces.

The valley has limited entry points and its geography offers a natural military advantage - defensive units can use high positions to effectively target attacking forces.

This week, Punchshir militants held a military exercise in a demonstration where men crossed heavy icy rivers with heavy logs on their shoulders and chests.

With their flag flying over their armored vehicles and over their bases, a challenge to the white banner of the Taliban has now been raised in other parts of the country.

The NRF has set up machine guns, mortar and surveillance posts with sandbags in anticipation of the Taliban attack.

It is difficult to communicate with the valley, Taliban forces are on all three sides. The Punchshir Internet has been running again and again in recent days.