Afghan Forces Recapture Central Kunduz From Taliban - WSJ

Heavy fighting continues in other parts of provincial capital

Afghan troops swept through buildings in central Kunduz searching for insurgents and explosives after recapturing much of the provincial capital from the Taliban early Thursday. But by nightfall, the battle for a city that has come to symbolize the difficulties ahead for the government was far from over.

The Taliban’s takeover early this week of Kunduz, a strategically located city of some 300,000 people, was its biggest military victory in 14 years of war, no matter how fleeting.

It revealed the weakness of Afghan troops, despite billions of dollars the U.S. and its coalition partners have spent to train and equip them over the years. And it signaled that Afghan troops may remain more dependent on U.S. air and elite-combat support than both sides have anticipated.

An Afghan army officer who escaped after the Taliban captured the hilltop fortress of Bala Hisar on Wednesday said that many of his comrades, instead of carrying on fighting, removed their uniforms and surrendered. “The main reason for the fall of Bala Hisar to the Taliban was the lack of confidence among our own forces,” he said.  The counteroffensive began around 10 p.m. Wednesday, Afghan officials said.

Some 500 Afghan army commandos and police special forces equipped with night-vision goggles and armed with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and precision rifles, led another 500 Afghan troops into the city from the airport, which was the government’s last stronghold. Elsewhere in the city, helicopters hovered as troops descended on ropes.

There was intense fighting throughout the night, and by morning Afghan troops had recaptured key government buildings and were patrolling the streets, according to security officials and residents. Many Taliban retreated and others were killed. Their dead bodies were lying on the road and outside the airport.

The Afghan army extended its counteroffensive in Kunduz province, retaking the districts of Imam Sahib and Chardara, which had fallen to the Taliban on Wednesday, according to Afghan officials.

“Despite strong resistance from the Taliban, Afghan forces defeated them,” the Afghan Ministry of Defense announced. Afghanistan’s intelligence agency invited journalists to tour the cleared city.

But after an hourslong lull, the fighting resumed as militants repelled government forces from buildings across the city. Journalists weren’t allowed into the center of the city. Sporadic fire continued throughout the day and civilians kept to their homes.  “The bazaar is shut and the roads are empty,” said a government employee in Kunduz. - Read More at WSJ

Afghan Forces Recapture Central Kunduz From Taliban