![]() The coalition is now led by Massoud’s son, Ahmad Massoud, who has vowed to continue the fight against the Taliban in the wake of their near takeover of Afghanistan.Īhmad Shah Massoud, (center) Defense Minister of Afghanistan and leader of the Northern Alliance is seen in this undated photo in Anaba, Panjshir Province, Afghanistan. CNN’s national security analyst Peter Bergen called the incident the “curtain raiser for the attacks on New York City and Washington DC that followed.” Known as the “Lion of Panjshir,” Massoud led an anti-Taliban offensive until he was assassinated by al Qaeda operatives two days before the Septemattacks. But the Northern Alliance, under Massoud’s leadership, managed to keep the Panjshir Valley free of the militant group’s grip throughout its five-year rule. Most of the country fell to Taliban in 1996. For a while his forces occupied Kabul, but were accused of human rights abuses. Robert Nickelsberg/Getty ImagesĪfter the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, various factions of mujahedeen – or Islamic holy warriors – split into groups, fighting for control of the country.įrom this chaos, Massoud formed the Northern Alliance, a coalition of Uzbek and Tajik forces. Most of the valley’s population are ethnic Tajiks, while the Taliban are largely Pashtuns.Ī destroyed Soviet-era tank lies in the Panjshir River in 2016 in Bazarak, Afghanistan. ![]() Prior to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, leaders of Panjshir province had called on the Afghan government in Kabul to grant them more autonomy. Tucked into the Hindu Kush mountain range and accessible only through a narrow gorge, local forces have long harnessed its remote location as an advantage over would-be invaders. The landscape of the Panjshir Valley plays a part in its defensive success. In the 1980s, fighters defending the valley under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Massoud managed to hold Soviet forces at bay, even as the USSR controlled Kabul and large swaths of the rest of the country. The valley has long withstood foreign occupation the British Empire’s army was unable to penetrate the region during its attempt to take Afghanistan in the 19th century. ![]() The Panjshir Valley, some 150 kilometers (about 93 miles) north of Kabul, is the epicenter of Afghan guerrilla warfare. Here’s what you need to know about the resistance movement in Panjshir. On Monday, the Taliban said they had captured three districts in the Panjshir Valley. The Taliban have been massing forces in and around Panjshir province, the only one yet to fall under the militants’ control. Now, the last major holdout is under threat. As the Taliban firm up their grip on Afghanistan, there is one remote region whose resistance to the militant group goes back decades.
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