Taliban, rebels both claim to inflict heavy losses during fighting in holdout province

The Taliban and rebel fighters located in the Panjshir Valley, the only province in Afghanistan that has not fallen to the insurgent group, are both claiming to have inflicted heavy losses during recent fighting in the holdout province.

Taliban forces and fighters aligned with local leader Ahmad Massoud clashed in the Panjshir Valley on Thursday, according to Reuters, continuing the conflict in the province.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said negotiations with the resistance group failed, which sparked the beginning of their “operations.” Mujahid also said the other side had “heavy losses.”

“We started operations after negotiation with the local armed group failed. … They suffered heavy losses,” Mujahid said, according to Reuters.

A spokesperson for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), however, is claiming the rebels had a firm grip on all passes and entrances and resisted efforts to take Shotul district at the beginning of the valley.

“The enemy made multiple attempts to enter Shotul from Jabul-Saraj, and failed each time,” the spokesperson said, referring to a town that neighbors Parwan province, according to Reuters.

The spokesperson also said the NRFA forces have suffered losses from the Taliban on two different fronts since the confrontations between the two groups started earlier this week.

“It has been proven to the other side that they cannot resolve this issue through war,” the spokesperson reportedly said, referencing the Taliban’s losses.

Both sides reportedly offered different figures for the number of casualties inflicted on the other group, without providing additional evidence. The news wire noted that it was not possible to verify the numbers provided.

The clashes came after attempts to negotiate in the Panjshir Valley crumbled, with both sides blaming the other for tanking the conversations.

The Taliban last week said it was sending fighters to the holdout province because talks “couldn’t yield any results.”

Heavy fighting broke out in the region Wednesday.

The group is looking to tighten its grip on Afghanistan after the final U.S. service members departed the country Monday.

The Taliban is now saying it has surrounded Panjshir, and is urging the rebels to meet them at the negotiating table to establish a settlement, according to Reuters.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is home for all Afghans,” senior Taliban leader Amir Khan Motaq said during a recorded speech to Afghans in the province, according to Reuters.