Afghan forces push into Kunduz city captured by Taliban

Afghan forces pushed into the centre of Kunduz Thursday, triggering pitched gunfights as they sought to flush out Taliban insurgents three days after losing the northern city in a stinging blow to the country's NATO-trained military. The stunning fall of the provincial capital, even temporarily, highlighted the stubborn insurgency's potential to expand beyond its rural strongholds in the south of the country. Afghan forces, hindered by the slow arrival of reinforcements but backed by NATO special forces and US air support, struggled to regain control of the city after three days of heavy fighting. But on Thursday military convoys managed to penetrate into the centre of Kunduz after an overnight counter-offensive. Residents told AFP fierce gun battles and explosions were still echoing in parts of the city late Thursday, and the streets were littered with Taliban bodies and charred and mangled vehicles. "Afghan security forces are in control of Kunduz city," interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told AFP. "The clearance operation will take some time as Taliban remnants are firing from inside civilian houses and booby traps have been planted in places." The Taliban sent mixed messages concerning their progress on Thursday, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid insisting that militant forces were holding their ground in the city. But an Afghan Taliban commander who spoke to AFP from an undisclosed location said that Taliban fighters were conducting a strategic retreat from Kunduz. "The Taliban have almost vacated the main parts of the city but let me make it clear that we have proved that we can take control of any other city whenever we want," he said. Some scenes of jubilation erupted at dawn around the city square, where people who suffered three days of crippling food shortages thanked government troops, residents said. "Afghan soldiers took down the white-and-black Taliban flag in the city square and hoisted the government flag," Kunduz resident Abdul Rahman told AFP. But as fighting raged all day, with columns of smoke visible over much of the city, it was hard to pinpoint which side had the upper hand. Soldiers came under sporadic attacks from insurgents wearing Afghan security uniforms, many of whom took up positions inside residential homes. Precise losses from the fighting were unknown but so far 49 bodies and more than 370 wounded people have been brought to the city hospitals, provincial health director Saad Mukhtar told AFP. The wounded included 64 children, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said, adding that its trauma centre in Kunduz has been operating "beyond capacity". - 'Reign of terror' - Kunduz is the first major city to fall to the Taliban in 14 years. Security officials said the militants had slowly infiltrated the city during the recent Eid festival, launching a Trojan Horse attack that enabled them to capture it within hours on Monday. The development coincided with the first anniversary of Ashraf Ghani's national unity government. Marauding insurgents seized government buildings and freed hundreds of prisoners, raising their flag throughout Kunduz. The lightning capture of the city sent thousands of panicked residents fleeing as insurgents erected checkpoints and were seen racing vehicles stolen from the police, UN and Red Cross. Amnesty International condemned the Taliban's "reign of terror" in the embattled city, citing civilian testimonies of mass murder, gang rapes and house-to-house searches by militant death squads. - Expanding insurgency - The Taliban's recent advances in Kunduz and neighbouring Takhar and Baghlan provinces highlight that a large and strategic patch of northern Afghanistan is imperilled by a rapidly expanding insurgency. It is also seen as a game-changer for the fractious militant movement that has been dogged by a leadership crisis since the announcement in July of founder Mullah Omar's death. "The Taliban know that they don't have the power to retain control of a big city like Kunduz," Kabul-based military analyst Atiqullah Amarkhil told AFP. "But their takeover, however temporary, shows they are a force to reckon with before any future peace negotiations." Their incursion into Kunduz, barely nine months after the NATO combat mission concluded, raised troubling questions about the capabilities of Afghan forces as they battle the militants largely on their own. It has also renewed questions about Washington's plan to withdraw most US troops from Afghanistan next year. Even after years of training and equipment purchases -- on which Washington spent $65 billion -- Afghan forces have been unable to rein in the ascendant insurgency. The Taliban stepped up attacks during a summer offensive launched in late April against the Western-backed government in Kabul. After years of costly involvement, most NATO troops pulled back from front lines by the end of 2014, although a residual force of around 13,000 remains for training and counter-terrorism operations.