‘Massive’ Taliban attack kills dozens in Afghanistan

Kabul: A “massive” attack by Taliban militants in Afghanistan’s Kunduz city has killed dozens of people as peace talks between insurgents and the US continued in Qatar, officials said. The assault began shortly after midnight on Saturday in several parts of the city and insurgents managed to infiltrate different areas of the region before dawn, officials said. Police, Army commandos and special forces were deployed to vulnerable areas of the city shortly after the onslaught began, Kunduz police spokesman Sarwar Hussaini was cited as saying by Efe news.

Militants took refuge in several houses during the attack, using them as combat positions and also used civilians as human shields against the security forces. Fighting continued on Saturday in the outskirts and in some neighbourhoods of Kunduz between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters, who were pushed back from most of the areas of the city they had captured during the night. At least 34 Taliban fighters were killed in a counter-attack by Afghan forces, according to security officials. The Defence Ministry said Afghan security forces also suffered casualties but didn’t provide exact details. The Taliban’s shadow military commander for Kunduz Mullah Wali was shot dead by a special forces sniper unit in the fighting, said the National Directorate of Security. Rohullah Ahmadzai, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, said that hundreds of Taliban fighters were involved in the attack. He said special forces arrived in Kunduz early on Saturday morning and the Taliban had been pushed back from several areas but was still present in at least two neighbourhoods of the city as fighters were hiding in civilian houses. (IANS)

Also Read: Afghan Force stormed Taliban Hideout in The Country’s Ghazni Province

Also Watch: AGP holds press conference at party office in Guwahati | The Sentinel News | Assam News