NRF kills 17 Taliban fighters in Panjshir

KABUL: The National Resistance Front (NRF) has claimed to have killed 17 members of the Taliban’s armed group — including the chief of staff of one of its battalions — in a targeted overnight operation in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province.

According to media reports, the operation was conducted on the night of December 7 in Manjasto, a major Taliban stronghold located in the Abdulla Khil Valley of Dara district.

In an X post, the NRF said the militants stationed at the base belonged to the Taliban Ministry of Defence’s Special Brigade and had been routinely harassing and abusing local civilians.

The NRF said the attack began at around 6pm and was executed in two phases: first, an explosive device planted inside the compound was detonated, followed by a barrage of rocket attacks that inflicted heavy casualties. The Taliban’s entire base was “completely destroyed,” the group claimed.

In addition to the 17 killed — among them a battalion chief of staff — at least five Taliban fighters were reported injured in the assault.

NRF officials said that their forces suffered no casualties during the operation, nor were any civilians harmed.

Panjshir is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country containing the Panjshir Valley. The province is divided into seven districts and contains 512 villages.

The main inhabitants of the province are Shamali Tajiks, who speak Dari. As of 2021, the population of Panjshir province was about 334,940. Its current governor is Mohammad Agha Hakim.[6]

Panjshir became an independent province from the neighboring Parwan Province in 2004. It is bordered by Baghlan and Takhar in the north, Badakhshan and Nuristan in the east, Laghman and Kapisa in the south, and Parwan in the west.