Taliban and Afghan rebels claim heavy casualties in Panjshir fighting

Several thousand fighters and former soldiers still holding out in steep valley north-east of Kabul

Fighters for the anti-Taliban forces rest during a patrol in the Anaba district of Afghanistan's Panjshir province. Taliban men and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud fought in the valley on September 2. AFP

An anti-Taliban fighter takes a postion on a hilltop. Several thousand fighters are reported to be holding out against the Taliban in the region. AFP

The Panjshir Valley stretches about 120 kilometres. AFP

Resistance forces said on September 2 they had full control of all passes and entrances and had driven back Taliban efforts to take Shotul district at the entrance to the valley. AFP

The valley is steep and its rocky terrain makes attacks from outside difficult. AFP

There is only one narrow road that winds in to the Panjshir Valley. AFP

Taliban fighters wave as they patrol in a convoy along a street in Kabul. AFP

Unidentified people are surrounded by Taliban flags at an unidentified location, in this handout photo uploaded to social media. Reuters

Taliban soldiers are seen at one of the main city squares of Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters

Afghan youth play football at a reception centre for Afghan refugees organised by the Italian Red Cross in Avezzano, Italy. Italy is hosting almost 5,000 Afghan refugees who were flown from Kabul after the Taliban claimed control of the capital. EPA

The reception centre for Afghan refugees organised by the Italian Red Cross in Avezzano, Italy. EPA

Taliban soldiers on duty in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters

Members of the Afghanistan national girls youth football team and their families in Kabul. International efforts to rescue them and football federation staff suffered a crushing setback last week after a suicide bomb detonated near Kabul airport. AP

An Afghan child looks from inside a van in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters

A child flown from Kabul pushes a wheelchair with a woman at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Virginia. AP

A girl from Afghanistan waits with others to fly to the US or another safe location in a makeshift departure gate inside a hanger at the US Air Base in Ramstein, Germany. AP

Children from Afghanistan wait to fly to the US or another safe location inside a hangar at the US Air Base in Ramstein, Germany. AP

Anti-Taliban forces take positions in Darband, Anaba district, Panjshir province. AFP

Afghan resistance movement and anti-Taliban uprising forces rest on a hilltop in Darband. AFP

A helicopter displaying a Taliban flag flies above supporters gathered to celebrate the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan, in Kandahar. AFP

Taliban supporters gather in Kandahar to celebrate the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan. AFP

Taliban fighters on Humvee vehicles parade along a road in Kandahar to celebrate after the US pulled all its troops out of Afghanistan. AFP

Families who arrived from Afghanistan are seen at their makeshift tents as they take refuge near a railway station in Chaman, Pakistan. Reuters

Taliban forces rally to celebrate the withdrawal of US forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan. EPA

Taliban forces rally to celebrate the withdrawal of US forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan. EPA

Traffic police escort Taliban forces as they rally to celebrate the withdrawal of US forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan. EPA

A woman from Afghanistan waits with other evacuees to fly to the US or another safe location inside a hanger at the US Air Base in Ramstein, Germany. AP Photo

Haji Mohammad Yousaf, the Taliban's governor for Kandahar province, talks to supporters during a ceremony in Kandahar, Afghanistan. EPA

Supporters of the Taliban gather to listen to Haji Mohammad Yousaf, the governor for Kandahar province, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. EPA

A Taliban fighter stands guard as people line up to withdraw money from banks as limits on withdrawals were set at only 200 US dollars per week, in Kabul, Afghanistan. EPA

Female nurses takes care of patients at Wazir Akbar Khan hospital in Kabul. AFP

Loved ones and guests attend a vigil at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Massachusetts, for Sgt Johanny Rosario Pichardo, a US Marine who was among 13 service members killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan. AP Photo

A young Afghan refugee salutes a member of the US Army as she waits on a bus after arriving at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia. Reuters

An Afghan Air Force A-29 attack aircraft is pictured inside a hangar at the airport in Kabul, after the US pulled all its troops out of the country, AFP

Taliban Badri special force fighters, right, and a journalist get up after they fell down from a vehicle at the airport in Kabul, after the US pulled all its troops out of the country. AFP

Taliban Badri special force fighters take a position at the airport in Kabul, after the US pulled all its troops out of the country. AFP

Taliban fighters sit in the cockpit of an Afghan Air Force aircraft at the airport in Kabul. AFP

A Taliban fighter sits inside the cockpit of an Afghan Air Force aircraft at the airport in Kabul. AFP

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, centre, addresses a media conference at the airport in Kabul. AFP

A US drone flies over the airport in Kabul. AFP

A view of the aerial firing by the Taliban as US withdrew its last soldiers from Kabul, Afghanistan. EPA

US Army Major Gen Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, steps on board a C-17 transport plane as the last US service member to leave Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters

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Taliban forces and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud fought in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley on Thursday, with each side saying it had inflicted heavy casualties in the last province resisting Taliban rule.

After the fall of Kabul on August 15, several thousand fighters from local militias and the remnants of army and special forces units have massed in Panjshir.

Under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, son of a former Mujahideen commander, they have been holding out in the province, a steep valley that makes attacks from outside difficult.

Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure of talks as the Taliban prepared to announce a government.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group's fighters had entered Panjshir and taken control of some territory.

"We started operations after negotiation with the local armed group failed," he said. "They suffered heavy losses."

However, a spokesman for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, a group of rebels, said it had full control of all passes and entrances and had driven back efforts to take Shotul district at the entrance to the valley.

"The enemy made multiple attempts to enter Shotul from Jabul-Saraj and failed each time," he said, referring to a town in the neighbouring Parwan province.

The spokesman said NRFA forces had killed large numbers of Taliban fighters on two fronts since clashes broke out earlier in the week.

"It has been proven to the other side that they cannot resolve this issue through war," the spokesman said in reference to the Taliban's losses.

Both sides provided varying figures for the other's casualties, without offering evidence. It was not possible to verify the numbers of fighters on either side killed.

The Taliban says the Panjshir valley is surrounded on all four sides and a rebel victory is impossible. The rebels say they will refuse to surrender.