At least 17 people are said to have died in celebratory gunfire in Kabul as the Taliban claims to have taken control of Panjshir.
Panjshir marked the last rebel province of Afghanistan, meaning the Taliban would have total control of the country if its claims of the takeover are true.
The Panjshir valley, north of Kabul in the Hindu Kush, was formerly used as a resistance stronghold against the Soviets in the 1980s and against the Taliban in the 1990s, and when the insurgents took over last month an armed resistance gathered once again in the area.
Rebels are said to dispute claims the Taliban had triumphed over the resistance forces in the Panjshir Valley, though reports from two Afghan news agencies cited by The Independent revealed the deaths and said a further 40 people had also been injured.
