Afghan armed forces backed by U.S. airstrike to push out Taliban fighters from the city of Kunduz 12909154

Armies in the world - Afghan army
 
Afghan armed forces backed by U.S. airstrike to push out Taliban fighters from the city of Kunduz.
Backed by at least one American airstrike, Afghan forces gathered Tuesday, September 29, 2015, to begin a push to clear Taliban fighters who seized much of the northern city of Kunduz in a surprise assault on Monday. The airstrike was conducted early Tuesday "in order to eliminate a threat to the force," Col. Brian Tribus, a coalition spokesman, said in a statement. (SourceStar and Stripes)
     
Backed by at least one American airstrike, Afghan forces gathered Tuesday, September 29, 2015, to begin a push to clear Taliban fighters who seized much of the northern city of Kunduz in a surprise assault on Monday. The airstrike was conducted early Tuesday "in order to eliminate a threat to the force," Col. Brian Tribus, a coalition spokesman, said in a statement. Afghan soldiers keep watch during a battle with the Taliban in Kunduz, Afghanistan. Afghan Taliban fighters on Monday seize control of a 200-bed hospital in Kunduz city in the north.The Taliban has launched a fierce offensive from three directions on Kunduz. – Reuters pic, September 28, 2015.
     

Hundreds of Taliban fighters stormed Kunduz on Monday in an attack that sent government police and soldiers reeling and stunned observers. After a day of heavy fighting, insurgents reportedly controlled most of the city, the first time since their regime was toppled in 2001 that the Taliban have controlled a major population center.

Afghan officials pushed back at reports that their forces had completely abandoned the city by Monday night.

"We still have many areas in our control, and we will soon solve this problem," Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said Tuesday. "We have enough force in Kunduz right now to push back the Taliban."

Afghan army forces, including top corps commanders, units from nearby Balkh province as well as Kabul, and commando units, have massed at the airport in preparation for a counterattack on the city, he said.

An Interior Ministry official trapped in the occupied areas said in a social media post that he had seen government forces enter the city.

A clinic run by the French charity Doctors Without Borders received more than 100 casualties on Monday, and a government hospital in the city also reported being inundated by more than 100 wounded people.