Counter-offensive: Afghan forces battle to regain control of Kunduz

US provides support with first air strike; Ghani says reinforcements on the way

KABUL/KUNDUZ:

Backed by US air support, Afghan troops launched a counter-offensive on Tuesday to retake Kunduz, a day after Taliban insurgents overran the strategic northern city in their biggest victory since being ousted from power in 2001.

Gun battles erupted and Humvees rolled in parts of the city as Afghan security forces, who had retreated to the outlying airport after the fall, began a counter-strike backed by reinforcements.

The Taliban had captured government buildings and freed hundreds of prisoners on Monday, raising their trademark white flag throughout the city. The sudden fall of Kunduz was a major setback for President Ashraf Ghani’s government and raised questions over how ready the Afghan forces were to tackle the insurgency alone.

Ghani announced in a televised address that more reinforcements were on the way to regain the city, which he said had fallen partly because the government forces had shown restraint to avoid civilian casualties. “The government is responsible, and cannot and will not bomb its own citizens.”



He said the Taliban were using civilians as human shields, which was hampering the efforts of the security forces. Despite the counter-offensive, Kunduz swarmed with Taliban fighters racing stolen police vehicles and Red Cross vans. Insurgents also showed off seized tanks and armoured cars, promising to enforce Sharia law, a Taliban video showed.

Deputy Interior Minister Ayoub Salangi said the security forces were ready to retake the city and vowed to investigate how the Taliban managed to seize a major urban centre for the first time in 14 years.

At least 30 insurgents claiming loyalty to the Islamic State were killed when militants attacked police checkpoints in Achin district, said Nangarhar police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal. An official said four security personnel also died. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said one reason for the assault on Kunduz was to prove that the group was still united, after the appointment of a new leader in July had angered many key figures.

Unknown casualties

Earlier in the day, the government said its forces had regained the Kunduz city prison and provincial police headquarters, which were overrun Monday night, but the Taliban quickly refuted the claim.

More than 100 Taliban fighters were among the 600 prisoners who escaped during the jail attack, National Directorate of Security chief Rahmatullah Nabil told reporters on Tuesday. US military planes struck Taliban positions on the outskirts of the city, said a Nato spokesman. The attack marked the first US air strike to defend Kunduz.

Col Brian Tribus, a spokesman for the Nato-led coalition, denied reports later in the day that there had been civilian casualties in the air strike. Police said 83 Taliban were killed in the US action, a claim denied by the Taliban.

Precise losses in the fighting are not known, but the Afghan health ministry said hospitals in Kunduz had so far received 16 dead bodies and more than 190 wounded people. Moreover, Afghan Defence Minister Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai told reporters that 17 Afghan security personnel had been killed and 18 wounded across the country in the past 24 hours.

The Taliban spokesman said three militants had died and 11 were wounded, while at least 18 Afghan policemen had been killed.

‘Winning hearts’

Residents in Kunduz said the Taliban were patrolling the streets in vehicles they had seized from the army, police and Western aid agencies. “Since yesterday they gained control of our hospital, central bank and other government buildings,” said Abdul Ahad, a doctor at the 200-bed hospital in the city. “They have been behaving very well with everyone, especially the doctors. They may win people’s hearts if they stay longer.”

A senior Taliban commander said: “[The new Taliban chief], Mullah [Akhtar] Mansoor, directed his commanders in northern Afghanistan to take care of the local community by winning their hearts and minds through good behaviour and self-respect, instead of bullets.” The commander added that the insurgency would not stop at Kunduz. “This is the beginning, and our aim is Kabul. You will see how we capture Kabul and hang these puppets there in the squares,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30^th, 2015.