Afghan security forces advance against Taliban in Kunduz

Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) on Sunday made fresh gains against Taliban militants in Kunduz city, capital of Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province, police said.

"The ANSF has cleared majority parts of the city. Army and police forces made advances in outer sides of the city overnight, killing and injuring dozens of terrorists," Brigadier General Ghulam Sakhi Ghafoori, a senior commander of Afghan civil order police force, told Xinhua.

Several rounds of weapons were confiscated while engineering teams of army have defused hundreds of the roadside bombs and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) since early Saturday.

"The cleanup operations is going on. The latest operational information showed that more than 500 Taliban militants have been killed since the cleanup operations was conducted by Afghan troops 10 days ago," Ghafoori said.

Hundreds of people, including some 200 civilians, have been killed and thousands others fled their houses since late September when Taliban militants stormed into Kunduz.

The government forces launched a counter-offensive to recapture the city earlier this month and major parts of the provincial capital have been recaptured from the Taliban militants.

"The Afghan soldiers and commandos have called Sunday as ' Kunduz liberation day' and the Taliban militants are kicked out from nearly 60 percent of the city," a resident Mohammad Bezhan told Xinhua.

Despite the security forces' advancement, shops and bakeries are mostly closed down and the prices of basic needs remained high. Taliban militants are still existing in outskirts of the city and defending their hideouts, according to Xinhua's reporter in Kunduz city.

Local people have complained against slack public services, power shortage and lack of food.

While there is no precise information about the casualties of civilians and military personnel, unofficial sources said that nearly 200 civilians lost their lives and over 500 others sustained injuries since the fighting erupted.

Source: XINHUA