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Taliban widen offensive as Afghan army fails to retake Kunduz Taliban widen offensive as Nato special forces join fight for Kunduz
(about 1 hour later)
The Taliban are widening their offensive in northern Afghanistan after government forces failed to take back Kunduz, the strategic city in the north, which on Monday was captured by insurgents. It is the largest Afghan city to fall to the Taliban in the 14-year war. Nato special forces have joined Afghan troops in the increasingly desperate battle for Kunduz, as one of the last two government outposts in the strategic northern city surrendered to the Taliban.
Despite claims from Afghan authorities that an airstrike had killed a prominent Taliban leader and more than 100 insurgents, it appears that the militants have dug in around the city. The heavily besieged airport, which sits on a hilltop a few miles outside Kunduz, is now the only place held by the Afghan army. The nearby Bala Hisar fort fell when soldiers there ran out of ammunition, deputy provincial governor Hamdullah Daneshi said.
On Wednesday afternoon the Taliban took Bala Hisar, a strategic hill overlooking the city, which had until then been one of only two areas under government control. According to Hamdullah Daneshi, the deputy governor of Kunduz, the security forces withdrew from the hill because they ran out of ammunition. Nato special forces officially flown in to “advise and assist” Afghan commandos and ordinary troops joined combat in the early hours of the morning, spokesman Col Brian Tribus told Reuters news agency. He declined to say what nationality the troops were.
According to local people, Taliban fighters are still walking the streets freely, assuring people they do not intend to harm civilians in an apparent attempt to win local support. They also called in an American airstrike on insurgent positions, Tribus said. Although the US and Nato have officially handed over the battle against the Taliban to Afghan forces, the terms of their mission allows them to fight when they come under direct threat.
Kunduz is the first major city in Afghanistan to come under Taliban control since 2001. When it fell on Monday many observers thought the assault was more a show of strength than a real attempt for territory, and expected the insurgents to fall back under government pressure as they had done after taking smaller towns around the country.
Instead the army, police and local government officials have retreated and around 5,000 are now holed up in the airport. It is an island of government control in Taliban-held territory that extends far beyond the city walls, into neighbouring districts and along key roads.
If the airport falls, the Taliban will control all access to the city, making any operation to claim it back much more challenging.
The group have blocked routes out of Kunduz with roadside bombs and physical obstacles, and have skirmished with troops sent to reinforce government forces. Morale was fading even in parts of Kunduz with troops and supplies.
“We still have enough forces to take on the Taliban but sadly there is no will or resolve to fight,” Mohammad Zahir Niazi, chief of Chardara district, told Reuters.
The Taliban’s treatment of 60 troops who surrendered on Wednesday will be a key test of a message from the group’s leader at the start of the assault, promising fair treatment for both civilians and their historic enemies.
The Taliban regularly assassinate soldiers police and government employees across Afghanistan, but insisted anyone who surrendered in Kunduz would be protected.
“Our message to government officials and security personnel who are thinking about resistance or are hiding in fear of retribution is that they should abandon all negative thoughts spread about Mujahideen due to enemy propaganda,” said the Taliban’s new leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, in a statement posted online. “Mujahideen are not thinking about retribution but have come with a message of peace.”
According to local people, Taliban fighters are walking the streets freely inside Kunduz, assuring people they do not intend to harm civilians in an apparent attempt to win local support.
Related: However long it lasts, Taliban capture of Kunduz is a major blow to Afghan governmentRelated: However long it lasts, Taliban capture of Kunduz is a major blow to Afghan government
“They don’t punish [ordinary] people,” said Waqif, a local reporter who was still in the city despite a mass displacement of families. “For the time being, they are not threatening.” He said that while the Taliban had initially told people not to leave their houses, some shops had reopened on Wednesday morning.“They don’t punish [ordinary] people,” said Waqif, a local reporter who was still in the city despite a mass displacement of families. “For the time being, they are not threatening.” He said that while the Taliban had initially told people not to leave their houses, some shops had reopened on Wednesday morning.
Nato has sent special forces to Kunduz to help their Afghan counterparts. Even if the Taliban stick to their promises, the assault has already taken a heavy toll on Kunduz’s civilians. The local Médecins Sans Frontières hospital was working over capacity, with more than 130 injured patients, while the public hospitals had admitted almost 200 wounded, including 28 women, according to its spokesman, Wahidullah Mayar.
“Coalition special forces are in the Kunduz area to advise and assist elements of the Afghan special security forces. They’re in a non-combat role,” said Col Brian Tribus, a Nato spokesman. The Nato contingent includes British, US and German troops, according to AFP, citing an anonymous western military source. The UN estimated that at least 100 civilians had already been killed in the fighting, and that up to 6,000 civilians had fled.
In addition, the US has conducted three airstrikes in Kunduz, targeting the outskirts of the city and the airport. In the past month, US troops have also launched a series of airstrikes in Helmand, where the Taliban have captured Musa Qala and Kajaki districts.
The Afghan army has sent support from neighbouring Baghlan and Kabul provinces, but Taliban ambushes and roadside bombs have impeded swift movement of troops and interrupted supply routes, including for medical stocks.
About 5,000 Afghan troops have congregated around the airport, according to a security official speaking to Reuters. But they barely make up for the large number of troops who fled the city when the Taliban invaded. According to local officials, morale remained low.
“We still have enough forces to take on the Taliban but sadly there is no will or resolve to fight,” Mohammad Zahir Niazi, chief of Chardara district, told Reuters.
After a full day of fighting, the militants were digging in and still controlled most of the city, despite early government claims that they were being pushed back. The Taliban were encircling the airport until 3am on Wednesday morning, according to another reporter who spent the night there. If taken, the airport would help the militants choke off the city.
The Afghan intelligence service, NDS, claimed a “precision airstrike” had killed Mawlawi Abdul Salam, the Taliban’s shadow governor in Kunduz, along with a local representative of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and a dozen other insurgents.
The US military confirmed it had conducted an airstrike in the vicinity of the Kunduz airport, but did not confirm that Salam had been killed.
Afghan authorities also claimed that more than 100 insurgents, including at least three Arabs, had been killed. The ministry of defence said 17 Afghan troops had also died.
Meanwhile, Kunduz’s civilians are suffering. The local Doctors Without Borders hospital was working over capacity, with more than 130 injured patients, while the public hospitals had admitted almost 200 wounded, including 28 women, according to its spokesman, Wahidullah Mayar.
The UN estimated that at least 100 civilians had been killed in the fighting, and that up to 6,000 civilians had fled.
“I am deeply concerned about the situation in Kunduz following the Taliban’s attack on the city,” said Nicholas Haysom, the UN chief in Afghanistan. “The reports of extrajudicial executions, including of healthcare workers, abductions, denial of medical care and restrictions on movement out of the city are particularly disturbing.”“I am deeply concerned about the situation in Kunduz following the Taliban’s attack on the city,” said Nicholas Haysom, the UN chief in Afghanistan. “The reports of extrajudicial executions, including of healthcare workers, abductions, denial of medical care and restrictions on movement out of the city are particularly disturbing.”
A resident who asked to remain anonymous said: “My house is burned, the town of Kunduz has been destroyed by the Taliban. Our poor people in Kunduz have been displaced, killed and wounded. Expensive shops have been looted by Taliban.”A resident who asked to remain anonymous said: “My house is burned, the town of Kunduz has been destroyed by the Taliban. Our poor people in Kunduz have been displaced, killed and wounded. Expensive shops have been looted by Taliban.”
During a visit to the US, Afghanistan’s chief executive officer, Abdullah Abdullah, suggested to CNN on Tuesday night that the militants had infiltrated the city rather than fought their way through it, which reinforces the view from many in Kabul that the Taliban moved a lot of fighters into the city during the Eid holidays in preparation for the attack. The fall of Kunduz is a powerful propaganda victory for the Taliban, a demonstration of unity and strength under Mansoor, after the group was roiled by news that founding leader Mullah Omar had been dead for several years.
The fall of Kunduz is a great propaganda victory for the Taliban. A military win can help consolidate support for the new leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, at a time when the movement is plagued by rifts after the announcement of the death of its founder, Mullah Omar. The troubles in Kunduz are likely to reignite discussion about prolonging US engagement in Afghanistan. Barack Obama is aiming for a withdrawal to a troop size small enough to be housed at the US embassy in Kabul by the end of 2016, but critics in Washington insist that is premature.
The biggest territorial win since 2001, Kunduz is also symbolically important, as it was the first city to fall after Russia’s retreat in the 1980s. It was also the last major city taken by the US-backed Northern Alliance, which toppled the Taliban government in 2001. The top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Campbell, has previously advised against the planned withdrawal of American troops, arguing that it would put the country’s security forces at risk of losing more ground.
The troubles in Kunduz are likely to reignite discussion about prolonging US engagement in Afghanistan. Barack Obama is aiming for a withdrawal to a troop size small enough to be housed at the US embassy in Kabul by the end of next year, but critics in Washington DC insist that is premature.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Senator John McCain said the incursion on Kunduz was “an indicator of the dimensions of the Taliban’s capability to launch a very significant and successful attack”.In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Senator John McCain said the incursion on Kunduz was “an indicator of the dimensions of the Taliban’s capability to launch a very significant and successful attack”.
Many see the international coalition’s involvement in defending Kunduz as a sign of Afghanistan 350,000-strong security force’s continued dependence on its foreign partners. The top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Campbell, has previously advised against the planned withdrawal of US troops by the end of next year, arguing that it would put the country’s security forces at risk of losing more ground. It was also a reminder of the failings of the 350,000-strong Afghan government forces, even after years of US training and billions of dollars in support, and of political failings in Kabul.
However, more than a sign of Taliban strength, the seizure of Kunduz may be a sign of the troubles faced by the security forces, propped up by at least $61bn (£40bn) from the US, in securing the country. For the past six months, fighting had raged only a few miles from the city, largely ignored by the government, said security analyst Ali Mohammad Ali.
Ali Mohammad Ali, a Kabul-based security analyst said the invasion of Kunduz was evidence of the political weakness of the government. For the past six months, fighting had raged only a few miles from the city, he said.
“Everybody knew this was a threat, but nobody took it seriously,” Ali said. “Kunduz fell into the hands of the Taliban because of lack of political leadership, and lack of military leadership in responding to the crisis.”“Everybody knew this was a threat, but nobody took it seriously,” Ali said. “Kunduz fell into the hands of the Taliban because of lack of political leadership, and lack of military leadership in responding to the crisis.”
During a visit to the US, Afghanistan’s chief executive officer, Abdullah Abdullah, suggested to CNN on Tuesday night that the militants had infiltrated the city rather than fought their way through it, which reinforces the view from many in Kabul that the Taliban moved a lot of fighters into the city during the Eid holidays in preparation for the attack.