Afghanistan: Taliban fired from Kunduz according to the government

Kabul (AFP) – Afghan security forces chased Taliban fighters from Kunduz in the aftermath of their offensive on the northern city, an official source said Sunday.

The insurgents had launched their forces from several directions in the night from Friday to Saturday to try to seize this strategic city located near the Tajik border.

Heavy fighting took place on Saturday, during which the Afghan army received US air support, AFP spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told AFP.

"The city of Kunduz has been cleaned up, the Taliban repelled from the areas they had taken," he said. "The situation in the city is back to normal".

But Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid disputed this claim, saying the insurgents were holding their positions.

"The enemy's propaganda that the mujahideen were driven out or killed is false," he told reporters.

This offensive was launched when insurgents and the United States negotiated in Doha the contours of a future peace agreement that could result in a sharp reduction of the US military presence in Afghanistan in exchange for counter-guarantees. terrorism.

Earlier Sunday, US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad claimed on Twitter that the two sides were "on the verge of concluding an agreement that will reduce violence and pave the way for Afghans to sit together to negotiate an honorable and lasting peace."

The Taliban had briefly seized Kunduz in September 2015, before being expelled thanks to significant US air support.

As fighting raged, a US Air Force aircraft bombed the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, killing 42 people, including 24 patients and 14 staff members of the NGO.

The insurgents have made several other attempts since then but have failed to seize the city as a whole again.

LNT with AFP