Militants appear to have dug in around key northern city despite authorities’ claims to have killed prominent Taliban leader
The Taliban are widening their offensive in northern Afghanistan after government forces failed to take back Kunduz, the strategic city in the north, which on Monday was captured by insurgents. It is the largest Afghan city to fall to the Taliban in the 14-year war.
Despite claims from Afghan authorities that an airstrike had killed a prominent Taliban leader and more than 100 insurgents, it appears that the militants have dug in around the city.
On Wednesday afternoon the Taliban took Bala Hisar, a strategic hill overlooking the city, which had until then been one of only two areas under government control. According to Hamdullah Daneshi, the deputy governor of Kunduz, the security forces withdrew from the hill because they ran out of ammunition.
According to local people, Taliban fighters are still walking the streets freely, assuring people they do not intend to harm civilians in an apparent attempt to win local support.
“They don’t punish [ordinary] people,” said Waqif, a local reporter who was still in the city despite a mass displacement of families. “For the time being, they are not threatening.” He said that while the Taliban had initially told people not to leave their houses, some shops had reopened on Wednesday morning.
Nato has sent special forces to Kunduz to help their Afghan counterparts.
“Coalition special forces are in the Kunduz area to advise and assist elements of the Afghan special security forces. They’re in a non-combat role,” said Col Brian Tribus, a Nato spokesman. The Nato contingent includes British, US and German troops, according to AFP, citing an anonymous western military source.
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/30/taliban-widen-offensive-as-afghan-army-fails-to-retake-kunduz 
