Afghanistan's Interior Ministry Confirms Fall of Kunduz to Taliban

The Afghan Interior Ministry has confirmed the capture of Kunduz city by the Taliban, stating that government forces are preparing to launch an attack to retake the city. Sediq Sediqqi, spokesperson for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said on Monday, October 6, that the government is sending reinforcements to Kunduz but cannot yet provide an exact death toll. Meanwhile, the charity organization 'Doctors Without Borders' reported that over 100 people have been injured since the Taliban's assault on the city, with 36 in critical condition. Earlier, local sources in the center of Kunduz province confirmed that the city was taken by Taliban forces on Monday evening. An informed source, who wished to remain anonymous, told Radio Free Afghanistan that government troops have been driven out of Kunduz. Reuters also reported, citing local officials and eyewitnesses, that armed Taliban men have seized the governor's office in Kunduz in one of the most serious security breaches in the past 14 years. According to the report, the attackers have raised the Taliban flag in the main square of Kunduz and freed hundreds of their supporters from the city's main prison. This attack coincided with the anniversary of the formation of Ashraf Ghani's national unity government. A government source in Kabul also told Reuters that the governor's compound in Kunduz has fallen to the attackers and that government forces are regrouping at Kunduz airport. Earlier, Syed Sarwar Hosseini, spokesperson for the Kunduz police chief, told the Associated Press that armed Taliban have taken over several government buildings, including a hospital and a court. Kunduz city, the capital of the province of the same name, has been targeted by Taliban attacks twice this year.