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 The sudden fall of Kunduz on Monday was a major setback for the
government of President Ashraf Ghani, which marked its first year in
power on Tuesday, and raised questions over how ready Afghan forces
were to tackle the Islamist insurgency alone.
Ghani told the nation in a televised speech on Tuesday that
government reinforcements had reached Kunduz and neighboring Baghlan
province, and an army battalion was on its way to help embattled
troops regain the city.
He said that security forces' efforts had been hampered by Taliban
fighters using civilians as human shields.
"The government is responsible, and cannot and will not bomb its own
citizens," Ghani said.
Earlier in the day, the government said in a statement that its
forces had regained the city prison and the provincial police
headquarters, which were overrun on Monday night.
More than 100 Taliban fighters were among the 600 prisoners who
escaped during the jail attack, National Directorate of Security
chief Rahmatullah Nabil told reporters on Tuesday.
U.S. military planes struck Taliban positions on the outskirts of
the city, a NATO spokesman said. The attack at about 9 a.m. (12:00
midnight EDT) marked the first U.S. air strike to defend Kunduz.
"U.S. forces conducted an air strike in Kunduz today to eliminate a
threat to coalition and Afghan forces operating in the vicinity of
Kunduz," said Colonel Brian Tribus, a spokesman for the NATO-led
coalition.
He did not elaborate on how many coalition troops were in the area.
Precise casualties from the fighting were not known.
"The enemy is suffering heavy casualties from air strikes," Ghani
said in his speech.
Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai told reporters
that 17 Afghan security personnel had been killed and 18 wounded in
the past 24 hours across the country.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said three militants had died
and 11 were wounded, while at least 18 Afghan police had been
killed. The militants often overstate casualties they inflict on
government security personnel.
"We are sending more fighters from other areas to support local
mujahideen," he said. "The situation is very serious, and intense
fighting is going on between our mujahideen and Afghan forces."
"WINNING HEARTS"
Residents in Kunduz said the Taliban were patrolling the streets in
vehicles they had seized from the army, police and Western aid
agencies.
"Since yesterday they gained control of our hospital, central bank
and other government buildings," said Abdul Ahad, a doctor at the
200-bed hospital in the city.
"They have been behaving very well with everyone, especially
doctors. They may win people's hearts if they stay longer."
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A shopkeeper said the number of Islamist fighters in Kunduz had
increased on Tuesday and they had planted booby traps on some roads
leading out of the city.
A senior commander in the hardline Islamist movement, which imposed
strict Islamic law over Afghanistan for five years before it was
toppled by U.S.-led military intervention in 2001, said fighters had
been ordered to treat locals well.
"Mullah (Akhtar) Mansour directed his commanders in northern
Afghanistan to take care of the local community by winning their
hearts and minds through good behavior and self respect instead of
bullets," he said, referring to the Taliban's new leader.
The commander added that the insurgency would not stop at Kunduz.
"This is the beginning, and our aim is Kabul. You will see how we
capture Kabul and hang these puppets there in squares," he said.
Spokesman Mujahid said one reason for the assault on Kunduz was to
prove that the Taliban were still united, after Mansour's
appointment in July had threatened to splinter the group.
The Taliban has been fighting to remove the Western-backed
government in Kabul since it was ousted in 2001.
The insurgency has escalated this year, after NATO withdrew almost
all of its combat troops and focused instead on training the
fledgling Afghan armed forces.
The U.S Embassy in Kabul issued a travel warning to its citizens on
Tuesday.
"The security situation in Afghanistan is extremely unstable, and
the threat to all U.S. citizens in Afghanistan remains critical,"
the statement said.
"U.S. citizens currently visiting or residing in Afghanistan may
wish to consider departing."
(Additional reporting by Jessica Donait, Hamid Shalizi and Kay
Johnson in Kabul and Jibran Ahmed in Peshawar; Writing by Krista
Mahr; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Will Waterman)
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