Taliban Fighters Awaiting Order To Attack Resistance Forces In Afghan Panjshir - Source

KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2021) Fighters of the Taliban movement (banned in Russia as terrorist) are waiting for an order to attack the holdout Panjshir province northeast of the Afghan capital of Kabul, a source told Sputnik on Sunday.

Earlier on Sunday, the Taliban gave four hours to surrender to Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan. In response, Massoud said that Panjshir would not surrender and that the locals were ready to fight. Massoud also claimed that he and his supporters wanted a peaceful solution and were ready to negotiate an inclusive government with the Taliban, but the movement refused the offer.

The Agence France-Presse news agency reported earlier in the day, citing a source in the Taliban, that several hundred Taliban fighters had move out towards Panjshir.

The Taliban entered Kabul on August 15 after a months-long offensive, prompting the civilian government to collapse. Panjshir is the epicenter of the resistance led by Massoud and Amrullah Saleh, the first vice president from Ashraf Ghani's government.