Team News Riveting
The Taliban captured two more provincial capitals including Kunduz of strategic importance on Sunday.
The group has gained ground in its fight to take over Afghanistan’s cities after seizing much of the countryside in recent months. The insurgents have snatched up four provincial capitals since Friday in a rapid offensive.
According to reports, Kunduz and Sar-e-Pul in the north fell on Sunday within short span of time. Kunduz, however, is the most significant Taliban gain since the insurgents launched an offensive soon after foreign forces began the final stages of their withdrawal.
It has been a perennial target for the Taliban, who briefly overran the city in 2015 and again in 2016 but never managed to hold it for long.
The ministry of defence said government forces were fighting to retake key installations. “The commando forces have launched a clearing operation. Some areas, including the national radio and TV buildings, have been cleared of the terrorist Taliban,” it said.
Kunduz city is completed under chaos. Even an aircraft, probably of government defence force, hovered around the city but could not land.
The Taliban claimed, “After some fierce fighting, the mujahideen, with the grace of God, captured the capital of Kunduz.” The mujahideen also captured Sar-e-Pul city, the government buildings and all the installations there, it added.
An Afghan security forces spokesman also said “extremely [heavy] fighting is going on” in Kunduz, as security forces fought to defend the city, regarded as a strategic prize as it lay at the gateway to mineral-rich northern provinces and Central Asia.
