Taliban deals surprise blow to Afghan forces
KABUL — Taliban gunmen fanned out in full force Tuesday across a key Afghan city they captured the day before as the U.S. military carried out an airstrike on Kunduz and President Ashraf Ghani vowed to take the northern city back from the insurgents, urging his nation to trust Afghan troops to do the job.
In a televised address to the nation, Ghani said the military launched a counter-offensive on the city with security forces “retaking government buildings ... and reinforcements, including special forces and commandos, are either there or on their way there.”
“The enemy has sustained heavy casualties,” said Ghani, who marked his first anniversary in office Tuesday. He urged his nation to trust Afghan troops and not give in to “fear and terror.”
Monday’s multi-pronged, coordinated Taliban assault on Kunduz took the Afghan authorities and military officials by surprise. After a day of fierce fighting, the insurgents overran government buildings and hoisted their flag in the city square.
The fall of the city of 300,000 inhabitants — the first urban area taken by the Taliban since the 2001 U.S. invasion ousted their regime — was also a major setback to Ghani, who has staked his presidency on bringing peace to Afghanistan and seeking to draw the Taliban to peace talks.
Taliban gunmen patrolled Kunduz streets Tuesday, setting up checkpoints, searching for government loyalists and sealing off exit routes for anyone who wished to escape — effectively trapping the residents inside the city. The number of dead and wounded in the fighting is unclear.
Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said on his Twitter account Kunduz hospitals received “172 wounded patients and 16 dead bodies so far.”
The international charity Doctors Without Borders said its trauma centre in Kunduz received 129 wounded since early Monday morning, including 20 women and 39 children. Of the total, nine had died, said Kate Stegeman, an MSF field communications manager.
The Taliban issued a statement, attempting to reassure Kunduz residents they are safe.
The U.S. military carried out one airstrike Tuesday on the city “in order to eliminate a threat to the force,” spokesman U.S. Col. Brian Tribus said. Neither the U.S. nor NATOtroopsarebelievedtohavean operational presence in the region.