Taliban Seize Government Buildings In Kunduz, A Major Afghan City: Official

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban fighters Sunday took management of a lot of the capital of northern Afghanistan’s Kunduz province, together with the governor’s workplace and police headquarters, a provincial council member mentioned.

Ghulam Rabani Rabani mentioned preventing between insurgents and authorities forces had taken place across the governor’s workplace and police headquarters however that later the Taliban had taken over the 2 buildings. Additionally they had management of the primary jail constructing in Kunduz, he mentioned.

Rabani mentioned preventing was persevering with on the metropolis’s airport and different components of the town. Kunduz is a strategic crossroads with good entry to a lot of northern Afghanistan in addition to the capital, Kabul, about 200 miles (335 kilometers) away.

If Kunduz falls, it could be a big achieve for the Taliban and a take a look at of their capability to take and retain territory. It is among the nation’s bigger cities with a inhabitants of greater than 340,000.

A Taliban surge has intensified as U.S. and NATO troops wrap up their withdrawal from the nation. With Taliban assaults growing, Afghan safety forces and authorities troops have retaliated with airstrikes aided by the USA. The preventing has raised rising issues about civilian casualties.

On Saturday, Taliban fighters entered the capital of Jawzjan province after sweeping by 9 of 10 districts within the province. A number of different of the nation’s 34 provincial capitals are threatened as Taliban fighters sweep by massive swaths of Afghanistan at a stunning pace.

In the meantime, airstrikes broken a well being clinic and highschool within the capital of southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, a provincial council member mentioned Sunday.

A Protection Ministry assertion confirmed that airstrikes had been carried out in components of the town of Lashkar Gah. It mentioned forces focused Taliban positions, killing 54 fighters and wounding 23 others. It made no point out of a clinic or faculty being bombed.

Majid Akhund, deputy chairman of the Helmand provincial council, mentioned airstrikes hit a well being clinic and a college within the metropolis’s seventh police district late Saturday. However he mentioned the world is beneath Taliban management so any casualties may have been attributable to Taliban there.

Dr. Ahmad Khan Weyar, an official from the Helmand public well being division, mentioned a nurse was killed when an airstrike hit a well being clinic and a guard was wounded.

“American invaders bombed and destroyed one other hospital and college in Helmand,” the Taliban mentioned in a press release. It mentioned Safyano Hospital and Muhammad Anwar Khan highschool had been bombed.

The clinic in Lashkar Gah was providing providers principally to nomads who had been passing by the world, based on Akhund, however in latest days the world was beneath Taliban management and Taliban might have been handled there.

Heavy preventing has taken place in and round Lashkar Gah and each U.S. and Afghan authorities air forces have performed airstrikes within the metropolis. The Taliban management 9 of the town’s 10 police districts.