Amrullah Saleh Moves To 'Safe Place' After Taliban Attacks Panjshir Valley, Claims Journalist

The resistance leader instructed his bodyguard to shoot him in case of an injury during the battle as he doesn't want to surrender to the Taliban

Former Afghanistan President Amrullah Saleh (File Photo)

New Delhi: Amrullah Saleh, the former vice-president of Afghanistan, who is heading the Resistance Front against the Taliban in Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul is said to have fled the province after being attacked, as per the claims made by an Afghanistan journalist.

In a tweet, Journalist Bilal Sarwary said the former vice-president’s house was attacked by helicopters twice. “Amrullah Saleh was moved to an undisclosed location in Panjshir,” Sarwary said citing the sources close to Saleh.

Some reports claimed that Amrullah Saleh has moved to a safe place after a helicopter attacked his house, according to Samaa News, quoted by news agency ANI.

In a letter to the UK newspaper Daily Mail, Saleh rued about the fact how Afghan leadership abandoned the people of the war-ravaged country in the hour of need.

Before leaving Kabul, Saleh went home to destroy pictures of his wife and daughters. "I then went through my home and destroyed pictures of my wife and my daughters. I collected my computer and some belongings. I asked my chief guard, Rahim, to place his hand on my Koran," wrote the 48-year-old leader.

The resistance leader instructed his bodyguard to shoot him in case of an injury during the battle. "We are going to Panjshir and the road is already taken,' I told him. 'We will fight our way through. We will fight it together. But should I get injured, I have one request of you. Shoot me twice in my head. I don't want to surrender to the Taliban. Ever," he a

Meanwhile, the Taliban on Sunday said their forces had fought their way into Bazarak, the provincial capital of Panjshir where the opposition forces have been holding out since Kabul’s fall three weeks ago, according to a news agency Reuters.

The police headquarters and district centre of Rukhah had fallen, and opposition forces had suffered numerous casualties, Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said on Twitter, according to the news agency.

The Afghan national resistance front on Monday informed that another senior member of their group, General Abdul Wudod Zara has been killed during the standoff. General Wudod was the nephew of Panjshir resistance leader Ahmad Massoud. The developments came amid Afghan resistance force spokesperson Fahim Dashti being killed, according to ANI.

"Regretfully, The National Resistance of Afghanistan lost two companions in the holy resistance against oppression and aggression today. Mr. Fahim Dashty, NRF spokesperson, and General Abdul Wudod Zara were martyred. May their memory be eternal," the Afghan resistance front was quoted as saying by the Samaa News.