- Title: Taliban fighters enter northern Afghan city of Kunduz
- Date: 3rd October 2016
- Summary: KUNDUZ, AFGHANISTAN (OCTOBER 3, 2016) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) AFGHAN SECURITY PERSONNEL WALKING DOWN ON THE STREET TO STOP TALIBAN ATTACKS IN THE CITY AFGHAN SECURITY PERSONNEL HOLDING HIS RIFLE AND WALKING ON THE STREET VARIOUS OF AFGHAN SECURITY PERSONNEL GUARDING THE AREA TO STOP TALIBAN ATTACKS IN THE CITY (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) MEMBER OF KUNDUZ PROVINCIAL COUNCIL AMRUDDIN WALI, SAYING: "We are not satisfied about the current situation in Kunduz because there is fighting and killing every day. We are tired of this situation. Do these people have the right to live peacefully or not?" SECURITY PERSONNEL (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) MEMBER OF KUNDUZ PROVINCIAL COUNCIL AMRUDDIN WALI, SAYING: "It's been almost years that the people of Kunduz have been killed in the fighting. Every day the militants come to the city and they are pushed back by Afghan security forces. The fighting has affected the daily lives of our people in Kunduz and they have suffered heavy causalities. Thousands of families have been displaced because of the fighting and also, the highways are blocked." VARIOUS OF AFGHAN SECURITY PERSONNEL WOMEN AND CHILDREN WALKING WITH THEIR BELONGINGS TO ESCAPE THE FIGHTING VEHICLE CARRYING WOMEN AND CHILDREN ESCAPING FIGHTING POLICE TRUCK DRIVING ON THE STREET
- Embargoed: 18th October 2016 09:19
- Keywords: Afghanistan Kunduz Taliban fight
- Location: KUNDUZ,AFGHANISTAN
- City: KUNDUZ,AFGHANISTAN
- Country: Afghanistan
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Insurgencies
- Reuters ID: LVA00152G9T8L
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
Afghan forces got ready to defend Kunduz on Monday (October 3) after Taliban fighters attacked the northern Afghan city overnight, entering urban areas and threatening a repeat of the assault in which they seized the city exactly a year ago.
Sheer Ali Kamawal, commander of the 808 Tandar police zone in Kunduz, said the attack began at around midnight (1930 GMT Sunday) and fighting was going on in and around the city. Some Taliban fighters had entrenched themselves in homes.
The fighters appear to have slipped through a defensive security line set up around Kunduz, entering the city itself before clashes broke out, witnesses in the city said.
"We are not satisfied about the current situation in Kunduz because there is fighting and killing every day. We are tired of this situation. Do these people have the right to live peacefully or not?" member of Kunduz Provincial Council Amruddin Wali, said.
In Kabul, Brigadier General Charles Cleveland, spokesman for Afghanistan's NATO-led force, said he was aware of reports of sporadic fighting in Kunduz but said he had not seen evidence of a major Taliban offensive.
Security forces were seen preparing to drive out the fighters, who had infiltrated the Khak Kani area in the city's southwest.
The interior ministry said reinforcements were being sent.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in his official Twitter account four government checkpoints in Kunduz had been captured and some soldiers had been killed.
The attack came as the Taliban have stepped up attacks in different parts of Afghanistan, including the southern province of Helmand, where they have been threatening the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.
The fall of Kunduz last year was one of the most serious blows suffered by the Western-backed government in Kabul since the withdrawal of most international troops at the end of 2014. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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