The Taliban is claiming it now controls the whole of Afghanistan after taking complete control of Panjshir province, the last area in Afghanistan being held by resistance forces.
A spokesman for the group, Zabihullah Mujahid, issued a statement saying the area had been "completely conquered" and a "number of people" were killed while the "rest fled".
The opposition group, National Resistance Front (NRF), has said the "Taliban's claim of occupying Panjshir is false".
It added: "The NRF forces are present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight.
"We assure the people of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban and their partners will continue until justice and freedom prevails."
Speaking at a news conference, Mr Mujahid also claimed there have been no civilian casualties in the takeover of Panjshir, despite claims that members of the NRF have been killed.
The Taliban added that electricity and internet will resume in Panjshir "from today" and efforts to restart international flights from Kabul will now begin.
Thousands of Taliban fighters overran eight districts of Panjshir province overnight, according to witnesses in the area speaking on condition of anonymity.
Panjshir was the last holdout of anti-Taliban forces in the country and the only province the Taliban had not seized during their sweep last month.
The deputy head of the Taliban's cultural commission, Ahmadullah Wasiq, said the group has "taken control of the most important areas in Panjshir", and are carrying out "operations in a manner that local people are not harmed".
He added: "We are performing operations in a tactical manner to force the resistance movement to vacate the area. As per our information, Panjshir will come under Islamic Emirate very soon.
"The resistance movement is trying to provide hope to the very few people and encourage them to fight through such claims against us, aiming for their financial gains and to hold on to their power.
"But I don't think they would be able to fulfil their desires. As Panjshir is a province of Afghanistan, it should also come under the regime."
The group also sought to assure residents that they would be safe, saying in its statement: "We give full confidence to the honourable people of Panjshir that they will not be subjected to any discrimination, that all are our brothers, and that we will serve a country and a common goal."
In the UK, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told Sky News that the government had been "hearing that" the Taliban had gained control of Panjshir, but added that "given there is now no UK military presence in the country it is hard to verify that independently."
He said: "I don't think the situation in Panjshir, whatever it is, really changes our calculus. From the moment Kabul fell, the Taliban were effectively the government of Afghanistan with whom we needed to work with, in the immediate term, in order to facilitate the evacuation of UK nationals and other people who were entitled to come to the UK.
"That doesn't mean we recognise the Taliban and if this is correct, that they have been successful in Panjshir overnight, that doesn't change anything in terms of our willingness to recognise them.
"It will be their actions in government, not their military prowess that determines when and how they are recognised in the international community".
The Taliban seized control of the rest of Afghanistan three weeks ago, taking power in Kabul on 15 August after the western-backed government collapsed and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
The anti-Taliban fighters had been led by the former vice president and the son of the anti-Taliban fighter, Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed just days before the September 11 attacks in the United States.
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Massoud's son, Ahmad, had issued a statement Sunday, calling for an end to the fighting that had been blistering in recent days.
He said his forces were ready to lay down their weapons but only if the Taliban agreed to end their assault.
However, late on Sunday, dozens of vehicles loaded with Taliban fighters were seen swarming into Panjshir Valley.
The group later said, on Twitter, that its forces had overrun Rokha district, one of the largest of eight districts in the province.
Several Taliban delegations have attempted negotiations with the holdouts there but talks have failed to gain any traction.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMia2h0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L3RhbGliYW4taW4tY29tcGxldGUtY29udHJvbC1vZi1hZmdoYW5pc3RhbnMtcGFuanNoaXItcHJvdmluY2Utc3Bva2VzbWFuLTEyNDAwMzQ10gFvaHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnNreS5jb20vc3RvcnkvYW1wL3RhbGliYW4taW4tY29tcGxldGUtY29udHJvbC1vZi1hZmdoYW5pc3RhbnMtcGFuanNoaXItcHJvdmluY2Utc3Bva2VzbWFuLTEyNDAwMzQ1?oc=5
2021-09-06 05:20:48Z
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