Taliban advance on key Afghan city

AFP, KUNDUZ, Afghanistan: Taliban insurgents advancing on the capital of a northern Afghan province have captured a key adjoining district, officials said Sunday, sparking renewed alarm among residents who fear the fall of the besieged city. The Taliban launched their annual summer offensive in late April with a brazen assault in Kunduz province, coming close to overrunning the provincial capital and sending civilian casualties soaring in outlying districts.
The capture of the worst-affected Chardarah district
—at the edge of Kunduz city—on Saturday reignited concerns over its potential fall as insurgents escalate their annual summer offensive.
“The district has fallen to Taliban after hours of fierce fighting. Twelve Afghan forces have lost their lives and 17 have been wounded,” Chardarah district chief Mohammad Yousuf Ayubi told AFP.
The militants are now as close as three kilometres to
Kunduz city, increasingly hemmed in by the insurgency, with sporadic fighting still ongoing between the Taliban and pro-government forces.
The fall of a provincial capital would be a major setback
for the Afghan government, which has been fighting a
resilient Taliban insurgency since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Deputy Afghan army chief General Murad Ali Murad said at least 70 security forces were surrounded by Taliban insurgents in Chardarah.

Taliban advance on key Afghan city

AFP, KUNDUZ, Afghanistan: Taliban insurgents advancing on the capital of a northern Afghan province have captured a key adjoining district, officials said Sunday, sparking renewed alarm among residents who fear the fall of the besieged city. The Taliban launched their annual summer offensive in late April with a brazen assault in Kunduz province, coming close to overrunning the provincial capital and sending civilian casualties soaring in outlying districts. The capture of the worst-affected Chardarah district at the edge of Kunduz cityon Saturday reignited concerns over its potential fall as insurgents escalate their annual summer offensive. The district has fallen to Taliban after hours of fierce fighting. Twelve Afghan forces have lost their lives and 17 have been wounded, Chardarah district chief Mohammad Yousuf Ayubi told AFP. The militants are now as close as three kilometres to Kunduz city, increasingly hemmed in by the insurgency, with sporadic fighting still ongoing between the Taliban and pro-government forces. The fall of a provincial capital would be a major setback for the Afghan government, which has been fighting a resilient Taliban insurgency since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Deputy Afghan army chief General Murad Ali Murad said at least 70 security forces were surrounded by Taliban insurgents in Chardarah.