Afghan officials say they have regained control of key areas of the northern city of Kunduz from the Taliban.
An
operation launched overnight saw forces recapture government landmarks
and inflict heavy casualties on the militants, officials said.
There has been no word from the Taliban, but fighting is reported to be ongoing.
The city's capture was a huge blow to President Ashraf Ghani, coming on the first anniversary of his taking power.
Kunduz police chief spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussaini told BBC Afghan
on Thursday that the military had retaken the governor's office, the
police chief's office and the intelligence agency building, adding:
"Taliban bodies are lying around."
Pictures on social media
purported to show government forces inside the city, which Afghan
interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi tweeted was being cleared of insurgents. Analysis: Justin Rowlatt, BBC South Asia correspondent
If
confirmed this represents a crucial victory for the Afghan army, its
biggest test since the withdrawal of coalition forces back in December
last year.
And
it would be a dramatic turn-around. On Wednesday it looked as if
retaking Kunduz would involve a tough battle. Eyewitnesses reported
Taliban fighters mining roads and digging in to strategic positions
ready to defend their prize.
Yet the Afghan government is today claiming that its forces swept the Taliban out of Kunduz in a couple of hours.
It
is jubilant at what will be seen as a crucial victory in the battle
against the Taliban insurgency. "This is a huge blow for the Taliban",
Sediq Sediqqi, spokesperson for the interior minister said. "It proves
Afghan special forces are elite fighters who can win battles."
Residents
in Kunduz are said to be nervous after a night of bombardment, and
after militants set up checkpoints and placed mines on roads to prevent
people leaving and troops entering.
Reports also said local boys
and men were being forced to fight with the Taliban, who had seized
police equipment, ammunition and vehicles and raided banks.
Foreign forces
The
US Army confirmed that American and Nato military advisers, including
special forces, were in the area, but denied they were fighting on the
ground. "But these are dangerous situations and if they need to defend
themselves, they will," said a spokesman. Image copyrightEPAImage caption
Reinforcements arrived from as far away as Kabul, to help with the counter-offensive
The situation at a strategic Kunduz hill fort captured by the Taliban on Wednesday remains unclear.
Militants
had blockaded the Bala Hisar fortress for two days before nearly 200
Afghan security personnel abandoned the position after running out of
food and ammunition, according to security officials.
Who are the Taliban? A guide to the complexities and conflicts within the militant group
In recent days there have also been reports of fighting in neighbouring Baghlan province, where a former Nato base was said to be under attack.
There
were also reports of fighting in several districts in Takhar province,
to the east of Kunduz. The Taliban also claimed to have taken a district
in western Farah province.
The BBC's Dawood Azami says the
Taliban is trying to open multiple fronts to divert the attention of the
Afghan military from Kunduz and stretch them thin.
The
city's capture has also increased the standing of new Taliban leader,
Mullah Mansour, whose succession had been questioned by some in the
movement.
Surprise attack
Kunduz,
with a population of around 300,000, is one of Afghanistan's largest
cities, and is strategically important as a transport hub for the north
of the country. It is also a bread-basket for the region and possesses
significant mineral resources.
Militant violence has increased
across Afghanistan since Nato ended its combat mission in Afghanistan in
December, leaving a 13,000-strong residual force used for training and
counter-terrorism operations.
Nearly 10,000 of those troops are
American and the crisis has heightened worries over Washington's plans
to pull more of them out. Military leaders are understood to want to
keep at least a few thousand in the country after 2016.
Kunduz province has seen a number of attacks since April, with the Taliban joining forces with other insurgents.
The assault on Monday night was swift and took Afghan forces by surprise.
Heavily
armed fighters crossed fields to attack the city from multiple
directions, helped by infiltrators that had entered the town during the
recent Eid festival.
They quickly overwhelmed several of the police checkpoints defending the perimeter of the town before moving into the centre.
PARIS -- The latest developments as European nations
struggle to cope with tens of thousands of people trekking across the
continent to find safety. All times local:
---
10:15 a.m.
French
authorities say an Eritrean migrant has been found dead in the tunnel
beneath the English Channel, the latest of several killed this year as
thousands of people fleeing poverty and war try to cross illegally from
France into Britain.
The administration for
the Pas-de-Calais region says the migrant was apparently hit by a
freight train near the entrance to the tunnel in Calais. It said the man
was in his 20s and was found alone Wednesday.
Eurotunnel,
which operates the freight trains, lamented an "accident that
unfortunately only confirms that any attempt to cross the Channel
illegally carries considerable risks."
Thirteen
people have now been killed trying to sneak across the Channel this
year. French and British authorities have tried to crack down on the
dangerous journeys.
Heavy fighting is continuing in the
Afghan city of Kunduz, one day after government forces launched an
attack to reclaim it from the Taliban.
Two US air strikes on Tuesday halted an attempt by insurgents to seize the airport, the army's stronghold.
Afghanistan's
spy agency says the strikes killed the Taliban leader in the province
and his deputy, but the Taliban has denied this.
The capture of Kunduz represents the militants' biggest victory since 2001.
On
Tuesday the United States acknowledged the seizure of Kunduz as a
setback, but says it remains confident that Afghan security forces can
re-take the northern city.
Overnight there were clashes around the
city, but it remains unclear just how much of it remains under
government or Taliban control.
Read more on the battle for Kunduz
Why were militants posing for selfies? The significance of Kunduz lies in its strategic location at the centre of drug-smuggling routes Taliban overrun Kunduz Images of how the Taliban suddenly overwhelmed the city Mullah Mansour's battle to be Taliban leader After all the disagreements, the Taliban says it has rallied around its new leader Who are the Taliban? A guide to the complexities and conflicts within the militant group
Sayed
Sarwar Hussaini, a spokesman for Kunduz's police chief, told Reuters:
"Hundreds of Taliban are killed and their dead bodies are on (the)
streets."
The Afghan defence ministry claimed the town's police
headquarters and prison had been recaptured, after militants released
hundreds of prisoners when they took the city on Monday.
But
Taliban-released video showed militants in the town showing off seized
tanks, armoured vehicles, police cars and Red Cross vans.
An eyewitness told the BBC that Taliban reinforcements had also arrived, with the situation too dangerous for locals to leave.
Residents,
nervous of both the Taliban and the possibility of street-fighting in
the battle for the city, are largely staying indoors.
The Taliban's new leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, said the government should admit defeat.
President
Ashraf Ghani, who completed his first year in office on Tuesday, said
in a televised address that "progress" was being made recapturing
Kunduz, but security forces had been hampered by the Taliban using
civilians as human shields.
Image copyrightAPImage caption
Taliban fighters seized UN and Red Cross cars, along with police and military vehicles
The assault on Monday was swift and took Afghan forces by surprise.
As
darkness fell, heavily armed fighters crossed fields to attack the city
from multiple directions. They quickly overwhelmed several of the
police checkpoints defending the perimeter of the town.
They then
captured key buildings, freed about 500 prisoners from the city's jail
and forced officials and troops to retreat to the airport.
Kunduz province has seen a number of attacks since April, with the Taliban joining forces with other insurgents.
Nato
ended its combat mission in Afghanistan in December, withdrawing most
of its troops, apart from a 13,000-strong residual force used for
training and counter-terrorism operations.
Militant violence has increased across Afghanistan since the departure of most Western forces.
Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Officials said thousands of special forces were preparing to retake the city
Are you in Kunduz? Have you been affected by the violence in Afghanistan? Let us know about your experiences. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories.
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