On 17 August, the former First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh, tweeted that he had remained in the country and had assumed the role of Caretaker President in the absence of Ghani citing the Afghan Constitution as his basis. Saleh's government is based in the Panjshir Valley, using the city of Bazarak as a temporary capital, one of the few areas of Afghanistan still under control of the Islamic Republic and includes Bismillah Khan Mohammadi as Minister of Defense and Ahmad Massoud, son of Ahmad Shah Massoud. On 6 September, after heavy fighting resulting in high losses on both sides, the Taliban claimed to have captured all of Panjshir, with the Taliban flag being hoisted at the governor's office in Bazarak. The remaining NRF troops had reportedly retreated into the mountains.