Afghanistan Government: We Have Retaken Kunduz from the Taliban

Officials from the Afghan government state that their armed forces have managed to retake the city of Kunduz, which had been captured by the Taliban, following intense nighttime battles. The news of Kunduz's recapture was published on October 1st. Sediq Sediqi, spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Interior, stated on his Twitter account that "special forces have taken control of the city of Kunduz and a cleansing operation is underway." According to Mr. Sediqi, heavy casualties have been inflicted on Taliban forces. The Taliban group managed to seize control of Kunduz on Monday of this week. The capture of this city in northern Afghanistan has been described as "the biggest victory for the Taliban" since 2001. A group of experts has described the fall of this city as a "catastrophe" for Ashraf Ghani's government. The attack occurred on the anniversary of the formation of the national unity government led by Ghani. The Dari section of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that senior Afghan security officials have been summoned to the Wolesi Jirga (House of Representatives of the National Assembly) to answer questions regarding the fall of Kunduz. Rahmatullah Nabil, head of Afghanistan's National Security Directorate, has also apologized to the citizens of the country. On Tuesday, U.S. military aircraft conducted strikes on Taliban positions in the city to support Afghan forces. In this context, the Afghan Ministry of Interior confirmed the fall of Kunduz to the Taliban and that U.S. fighter jets bombed Taliban positions in Kunduz.