The Taliban* proclaimed victory and the end of violence in Afghanistan on 15 August after seizing Kabul without a fight, but some regions of the country decided they would not give up so quickly. The Panjshir Valley north of Kabul is the final major bastion of resistance to the Taliban.
Tucked away in the mountains, Panjshir has long had a reputation as a stronghold of resistance: back in the 1980s, legendary military commander Ahmad Shah Massoud successfully defended it during the Soviet invasion and the civil war with the Taliban. Now his son, Ahmad Massoud, is refusing to surrender to the Taliban, openly saying he has taken up the mantle of his father. Here is what you should know about the leader of the last force opposing the Taliban in the country:
Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021.
© AP Photo / Zabi Karimi
What Forces Does Massoud Have Behind Him?
An Afghan Army soldier pauses before dropping his helmet and his gun next to his comrade's equipment at a training facility in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, May 8, 2013.
© AP Photo / Anja Niedringhaus
*The Taliban and al Qaeda are terrorist organisations outlawed in Russia.