Hyderabad: At least seventeen people were killed in celebratory gunfire in Kabul after Taliban fighters had seized control of the last province in Afghanistan, Panjshir on Friday.
Panjshir province was unwilling to cede to Taliban’s rule, Reuters quoted sources from the Islamist group. leaders of the opposition to the Taliban have denied that the province has fallen.
Reuters cited a local news agency saying that “aerial shooting” in Kabul killed 17 people while 41 others were wounded considerably. “14 other individuals were injured in the celebratory firing in Nangarhar province which is located to the east of Kabul,” remarked Gulzada Sangar, a spokesperson from an area hospital.
The gunfire drew a rebuke from the main Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid.
“Avoid shooting in the air and thank God instead,” Mujahid said in a message on Twitter. “Bullets can harm civilians, so don’t shoot unnecessarily.”
Fall of Panjshir’s National Resistance Front
Panjshir’s National Resistance Front (NRF) held out against the Soviet Union’s occupation and has a strong history of resisting the Taliban’s first rule from 1996 to 2001. The NRF made up of anti-Taliban militia is slowly losing steam. However, Panjshir’s vice-president Amrullah Saleh — the son of anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud– in a video message said that “The resistance is continuing and will continue.”