Afghan Forces Recapture Kunduz

Afghan troops supported by U.S.-led coalition airpower recaptured the center of Kunduz today after fierce clashes with the Taliban, three days after losing the provincial capital to the insurgents. Clearing operations are continuing in parts of the city, including house-to-house searches for Talib fighters. The Taliban flag was removed earlier today from the central square, replaced with government colors. Military helicopters are in the sky and government forces are patrolling major streets.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid implicitly conceded defeat, saying the Taliban fighters had withdrawn to the edge of the city. Mujahid added the withdrawal was tactical to draw government forces into the city.

The battle to recapture the strategic town began on Wednesday when Afghan Special Forces with coalition air support entered into the city and retook control of the governor’s office and the police headquarters. News agencies reported heavy fighting in the city center early Thursday before it came under control of Afghan security forces.

Photo credit: Afghan security forces in Kunduz; 1 October 2015 (Wali Kohsar/AP)

U.S. Military Launches Strike on Kunduz

The U.S. military carried out an airstrike on Kunduz today and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani vowed to take the northern city back from the Taliban, who pulled off a spectacular multi-pronged coordinated assault on Kunduz in the wee hours of Monday, capturing the strategically important town.

Afghan military launched a counter-offensive on Kunduz and there are reports today that they have retaken some areas, and reinforcements, including special operations and commandos, are arriving. The U.S. airstrikes against Taliban positions in Kunduz were carried out on Tuesday. U.S. military spokesman Col. Brian Tribus said the goal was “to eliminate threat to the (security) forces.” (AP, 29 September)

The insurgents had still the upper hand in the city on Tuesday, patrolling major streets, setting up checkpoints, searching for government loyalists and sealing off exit routes for anyone who wished to escape, AP reported. They emptied banks in the city of cash and seized vehicles.

Neither the U.S. nor NATO forces have an operational presence in the Kunduz region. German military control a base in the nearby Mazar-e Sharif.

Photo credit: Taliban prisoners walk on a street after their comrades released them from the main jail in Kunduz. Monday 28 September 2015 (Hekmat Aimaq/AP)

Taliban Capture Kunduz in Northern Afghanistan

The Taliban today captured the northern city of Kunduz, Afghanistan’s fifth largest town. The insurgents seized government buildings including the governor’s office, police compound, and the courthouse, despite heavy fighting in a series of battles with government forces. Hundreds of insurgents also broke into a main Kunduz prison and freed more than 600 prisoners, including 140 Taliban fighters. The military said the city’s airport is still under control of the security forces.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sadiq Sadiqqi told the Associated Press that “Kunduz city has collapsed into the hands of the Taliban.” (AP/FOX News, 28 September)

Sadiqqi added that the Taliban attacked the city from 10 different locations around 3 a.m. local time, overwhelming security forces.  Residents report the insurgents soon reached the town’s main square, tearing down photographs of President Ghani and other leaders and raising the flag of the Taliban movement.

“With capturing of police compound and governor’s office in Kunduz, the whole province fell to our hand,” the Taliban’s spokesman said Monday on his Twitter account.

The capture of the strategically located Kunduz, with a population of more than 300,000, marks the first time the Taliban have seized a major urban area since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. The Taliban previously attacked the same city in April, in its first major advance into an urban area, but were pushed back by security forces. This is a huge loss for Afghanistan.

Kunduz, Afghanistan (Photo: Al Arabiya)
Nader's Note: I visited the city in 2012.