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Fahim Dashti, spokesman of the anti-Taliban resistance in Afghanistan, was killed in Panjshir province on Sunday, sources from the National Resistance Front told The National.
While details of his death were unclear, one source revealed that Gen Abdul Wadood was also killed.
Dismissing reports that the high-ranking resistance leaders died in combat with the Taliban, the source said: "They were killed in a targeted assassination."
At the time of his death, Dashti was advising resistance leader Ahmad Massoud on the defence of the valley and in negotiations with the Taliban.
The National Resistance Front, led by Mr Massoud and Amrullah Saleh from Panjshir, the only province in Afghanistan that the Taliban do not control, has been engaged in heavy fighting with the Taliban in recent days.
The Taliban made a concerted effort to take the valley but, with the advantage of the mountainous terrain, the resistance fighters have largely managed to keep them out of the province.
But earlier on Sunday, resistance sources reported that Mr Saleh's residence in Panjshir valley came under attack from helicopters manned by Taliban fighters.
"Mr Saleh has been moved to another location and is safe," they said.
Both leaders who are believed to have died on Sunday were close aides of Mr Massoud's father, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the anti-Taliban mujahideen leader who was assassinated by Al Qaeda members just days before the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Dashti was with the elder Massoud during the attack, and was critically injured when the suicide bombers pretending to be journalists detonated their explosives.
Massoud was killed in the blast and was later declared a national hero.
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Afghan women's rights defenders and civil activists protest to call on the Taliban for the preservation of their achievements and education, in front of the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters -
Armed Taliban fighters stand next to a mullah, a religious leader, speaking during Friday prayers at the Pul-e Khishti Mosque in Kabul. AFP -
An Afghan man sells Taliban flags in Kabul. EPA -
Spectators wave Afghanistan's and Taliban flags as they watch the Twenty20 cricket trial match being played between two Afghan teams, Peace Defenders and Peace Heroes, at the Kabul International Cricket Stadium. AFP -
A Taliban fighter stands guard as spectators watch the Twenty20 cricket trial match in Kabul. AFP -
A burqa-clad woman rides at the back of a three-wheeler motorcycle cart in Kabul. AFP -
The UAE sent a plane carrying urgent medical and food aid to Afghanistan. Wam -
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, centre left, on a visit to Melville Barracks in Colchester, England where he met military personnel who worked on the Afghan evacuation. AP -
Taliban forces use an armoured vehicle to block the road near the presidential place in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters -
Afghan resistance movement and anti-Taliban uprising forces during military training in Dara district, Panjshir province. AFP -
Taliban fighters at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters -
An Afghan woman protester speaks to a member of the Taliban during a protest in Herat. AFP -
Syukuriah, 25, a refugee from Afghanistan, camps on the sidewalk near the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Jakarta, Indonesia. EPA -
An Afghan woman evacuated from Kabul in the terminal before boarding a bus after arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Virginia. AP Photo -
Gabby Ramirez, left, and Breanna Sanvnark watch a ceremony to honour the late LCpl Dylan Merola at Central Park in Rancho Cucamonga, California. EPA
