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.
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