At least 17 dead, 41 injured in citywide celebratory open-air firing in Kabul: reports

At least 17 persons died and 41 wounded in Afghanistan' capital Kabul after Taliban fighters reportedly fired their weapons in celebration after receiving unconfirmed reports that Panjshir province had fallen to their forces on Friday.

Emergency Hospital in Kabul said 17 bodies and 41 wounded people were transferred to its facility with harm caused by last night's citywide firing into the air, reports Tolo news.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Twitter criticized the practice of firing into the air and called on the militants to stop it immediately.

Yesterday, "celebratory gunfire" was heard in Kabul amid conflicting reports over the situation in Panjshir valley where Taliban fighters are fighting rival forces for control of Afghanistan's final holdout province, Tolo News reported.

The Taliban on Friday claimed that the province has fallen. However, the Northern Resistance Front has refuted the Taliban's claim.

"News of Panjshir's conquests is circulating in the Pakistani media. This is a lie," said Ahmad Massoud, who leads the rebels.

The capital city of Kabul fell to the Taliban on August 15, prompting a chaotic and deadly exit, which was completed at midnight on Monday with the last American soldier boarding a flight out of the country.