By Franz-Stefan Gady
The Taliban have dug in around the city and have widened their attacks.
A government offensive launched to retake the northern provincial capital of Kunduz city has allegedly collapsed while Taliban forces continue to advance, the New York Times reports.
Despite earlier claims that the insurgents had been pushed back, Taliban fighters surrounded Kunduz city’s airport overnight where about 5,000 Afghan government troops have congregated, according to The Guardian.
Earlier yesterday, the last government position within the city had been overrun by the Taliban and more than 60 Afghan soldiers captured. One officer, who managed to flee with 40 of his men, told NBC News that they had to retire because they ran out of ammunition: “We could hold no longer so we fought our way out but we got separated in the chaos,” he said. “More half of our group surrendered and the rest got to the airport. We are exhausted, hungry, I do not know what happened to the rest of my comrades I pray to God for their safety.”
The United States has conducted a number of airstrikes in the outskirts of the city and the airport. One precision airstrike purportedly killed Mawlawi Abdul Salam, the Taliban’s shadow governor in Kunduz, and a member of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, along with an unknown number of Taliban fighters.
Read the full story at The Diplomat