- Title: Street gun battles continue in Afghanistan's Kunduz for fourth day
- Date: 6th October 2016
- Summary: KUNDUZ, AFGHANISTAN (OCTOBER 6, 2016) (REUTERS) AFGHAN SOLDIERS AND ARMOURED VEHICLE AT CITY-CENTRE ROUNDABOUT AFGHAN SOLDIER FIRING AT TALIBAN FROM ARMOURED VEHICLE VARIOUS OF AFGHAN SOLDIER ON FOOT FIRING AUTOMATIC WEAPON TOWARDS TALIBAN AFGHAN SOLDIERS AND ARMOURED VEHICLE AT CITY-CENTRE ROUNDABOUT ARMOURED VEHICLE DRIVING PAST ROUNDABOUT AFGHAN SOLDIER ON FOOT FIRING AUTOMATIC WEAPON TOWARDS TALIBAN STREET IN CITY CENTRE AFGHAN SOLDIER WALKING AFGHAN SOLDIERS WALKING PAST WITH GUNS VARIOUS OF AFGHAN ARMY GATHERED NEAR ROUNDABOUT (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) AFGHAN SOLDIER, ALI REZA, SAYING: "The operation is going very well and continues at the moment. We have had a great achievement, we have pushed out the Taliban quite far from the city, they are defeated." VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS WALKING TOWARDS ARMOURED VEHICLE AT ROUNDABOUT AFGHAN SOLDIER AIMING GUN CITY-CENTRE ROUNDABOUT, AFGHAN FLAG FLYING AFGHAN SOLDIERS FIRING AT TALIBAN FROM ARMOURED VEHICLE
- Embargoed: 21st October 2016 09:31
- Keywords: Taliban Kunduz fighting gun battles militants U.S.
- Location: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- City: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- Country: Afghanistan
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA00152V9DMT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Street-to-street fighting in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz entered its fourth day on Thursday (October 5), after Taliban militants slipped past the city's defences earlier in the week.
In the centre of the city, scattered Afghan troops, some in armoured vehicles, fired towards Taliban militants in an effort to push them back.
"The operation is going very well and continues at the moment. We have had a great achievement, we have pushed out the Taliban quite far from the city, they are defeated," said one soldier, Ali Reza.
Government troops, backed by U.S. special forces and air strikes, have repeatedly declared that they are in control of the city, but residents report that heavy fighting has forced many people to flee.
Fighting in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz has forced many hospital staff to leave for safety, further jeopardizing medical care for hundreds of people.
Among those fleeing Kunduz are about 70 percent of the staff at the city's main public hospital, which was struck by several rockets and small arms fire, said one doctor.
The 200-bed public hospital is the main provider of medical care in Kunduz after a more advanced trauma centre run by Medecins Sans Frontiers was destroyed by an American air strike last year.
Thousands of residents have fled the city, with those who remain facing serious water, food and electricity shortages, as well as threats from the fighting.
The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001, are seeking to topple the Western-backed government in Kabul and reimpose Islamic rule. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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