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Taliban free hundreds of fighters from Afghan jail in north

Armed with rocket-propelled grenades, Taliban militants overwhelmed security guards at the jail in Kunduz city centre

Reuters September 28, 2015

Armed with rocket-propelled grenades, Taliban militants overwhelmed security guards at the jail in Kunduz city centre. PHOTO: AFP

KABUL: Taliban insurgents broke into the main prison in Afghanistan's northern city of Kunduz on Monday, freeing hundreds of fellow fighters hours after militants captured much of the city, two security officials said.

Armed with rocket-propelled grenades, Taliban militants overwhelmed security guards at the jail in Kunduz city centre, according to two officials there who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Read: New Taliban assault in Afghan north threatens Kunduz city

Government reinforcements were on their way to try to prevent the city from falling entirely to the Taliban, according to the provincial deputy governor, who spoke from the city airport after fleeing his office.

Earlier, police said Taliban fighters launched a new assault on the capital of northern Kunduz province from three directions on Monday, as government forces fought to keep the hard-line insurgents from entering the city.

Read: Afghan Taliban seize 200-bed hospital in Kunduz city in north

Breaching a provincial capital would be a milestone in the nearly 14-year-old insurgency, though Afghan forces this year have driven the Taliban from most territory they’ve gained in the warm-weather fighting season.

COMMENTS (2)

Jabran | 9 years ago | Reply this land can never be conquered.

Mohammad Aryubi | 9 years ago | Reply Undoubtedly, the seizure of the Kundoz city would position the Afghan militant thugs and their allies, as sitting ducks to be eliminated by the commando units already reached the area, and that, the city would serve to be their graveyard to the chagrin of their alien masters, who are sworn enemies of the people of Afghanistan.

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