The Taliban said Monday it had "completely conquered" Panjshir province north of Kabul. The Islamist group sent thousands of fighters into Panjshir overnight to cement its control over the country a week after the last U.S. forces withdrew. "We tried our best to solve the problem through negotiations, and they rejected talks and then we had to send our forces to fight," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a Kabul news conference.
Panjshir was an anti-Taliban stronghold, and the only province that didn't fall when the group swept Afghanistan in August. Its capture demonstrates the incredible strategic success of the Taliban's swift takeover: The Panjshir Valley sits between two large mountains, and it has just one entrance, making it particularly hard to seize. When the Taliban last ruled the nation in the late 1990s, Panjshir remained out of its grasp. The province also has some symbolic importance, as it was "the launching point for the U.S.-led invasion after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon," The New York Times reported.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
May 31 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include how much to pay for a pardon, medical advice from a brain worm, and a simple solution to the national debt.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debtCartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipeThe Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA reportspeed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign studentsspeed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulingsSpeed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administrationspeed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals courtspeed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffsspeed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visasspeed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of briberyspeed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
