Taliban and Afghan rebels claim heavy casualties in fighting over valley

FILE PHOTO: Ahmad Massoud, son of the slain hero of the anti-Soviet resistance Ahmad Shah Massoud, speaks to his supporters in Bazarak, Panjshir province Afghanistan September 5, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

(Reuters) - Taliban forces and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, fought in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley on Thursday, with each side saying it had inflicted heavy casualties in recent days of combat in the last province resisting Taliban rule.

Following the fall of Kabul on Aug. 15, several thousand fighters from local militias and the remnants of army and special forces units have massed in Panjshir.