Daily Times

PESHAWAR: The Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan (IEA) fighters have retaken most parts, including the intelligence offices and the central square in Kunduz City, in the northern province of Kunduz bordering Tajikistan after driving most of the government forces from their positions on Monday.

The attack begins early morning as the Taliban stormed the city from four directions in a similar fashion similar to the attack twelve months ago when the Afghan Taliban charged the city on September 28, 2015. The attack came as a surprise to the Afghan National Army and other government forces that were forced to retreat to their strong bases, enabling the Taliban to capture many important places with little difficulty.

Though the Taliban were advancing on all fronts during the day, the real shocker came when their spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid shared on Twitter videos of heavily armed Taliban fighters patrolling the main square of the city around 4pm local time.

In a separate video, a Taliban fighter could be seen hoisting the white IEA flag inscribed with the Islamic Kalima on it, over the traffic control post of the main roundabout in the city as many Taliban walked around on the roads in all directions of the roundabout.

Similarly, a number of videos of Taliban fighters in different parts of the city were shared by Twitter and Facebook accounts affiliated with the Afghan Taliban. However, the Afghan Ministry of Defense refuted the claim that the Taliban had control of many parts of Kunduz, saying the Government forces were still in control of the city.

Afghan Taliban had taken brief control of Kunduz city last year around the same time last year when they drove government forces out of the city on September 28. The city remained in their control for at least three days before an assault by reinforced government forces forced them to retreat to their strongholds outside the city near Afghanistan’s border with Tajikistan.

Till the filing of this report, the Taliban were engaged in fierce battles on at least three fronts. “Mujahidin are fighting for the police lines, governor’s office and the airport. These areas will fall to us soon,” an Afghan Taliban informed this scribe.