The US military yesterday carried out an airstrike on the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, which was on Monday captured by the Taliban in a major setback to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government.
On the ground, Afghan forces were regrouping in attempts to take back the city of nearly 300,000 people — the first urban area seized by the Taliban since the 2001 US-led invasion that ousted their regime.
The city fell on Monday after hundreds of Taliban gunmen launched a coordinated, multi-pronged attack at several points across the city. After a day of fierce fighting, they managed to overrun government buildings and hoisted their flag in the city square. The fast-moving assault took the military and intelligence authorities by surprise.
Photo: AFP
US Army Colonel Brian Tribus, spokesman for the US and NATO missions in Afghanistan, said yesterday’s airstrike was conducted “in order to eliminate a threat to the force” — though there were no foreign troops left inside the city. He did not elaborate if more airstrikes would follow.
Afghanistan rushed military reinforcements to the region and began an operation to retake the city, according to a statement by the Afghan Ministry of Defense. A newly built police headquarters and the prison in Kunduz were already freed from the Taliban and taken back, the statement said.
That claim could not independently be verified as the city was off limits to media. Residents, reached over the phone by The Associated Press, said sporadic gunfire could still be heard in the city yesterday morning. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for their safety.
Photo: AFP
During the Taliban assault on the city on Monday, the insurgents freed about 600 inmates — including 144 members of the Taliban — from Kunduz prison, officials said.
In Kabul, the US National Security Council was to meet later yesterday over the fall of Kunduz, a government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss government plans.
The International Red Cross said it had evacuated two of its three international staff from Kunduz, flying them to the nearby city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The UN office in Kunduz was also evacuated.
The city’s fall comes as Ghani marks one year in office. Ghani, who has staked his presidency on pledges of bringing peace to Afghanistan, and who seeks to draw the Taliban to peace talks, was to address the nation later yesterday.
Kunduz is one of the largest and wealthiest cities in Afghanistan, and the surrounding province, also called Kunduz, is one of the nation’s chief breadbaskets. It lies on a strategic crossroads connecting Afghanistan to Pakistan, China and Central Asia.
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