Afghan officials say they have regained control of key areas of the northern city of Kunduz from the Taliban.
An operation launched overnight saw forces recapture government landmarks and inflict heavy casualties on the militants, officials said.
There has been no word from the Taliban, but some pictures on social media purport to show government forces around areas of the city.
It is the first time militants captured a city since being ousted in 2001.
Kunduz police chief spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussaini told BBC Afghan that the military had retaken the governor’s office, the police chief’s office and the intelligence agency building, adding that “Taliban bodies are lying around”.
Afghan interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi also tweeted that “AFG (Afghan) Special Security Forces now controls Kunduz City, it is retaken and being cleared “.
However the fate of a strategic Kunduz hill fort captured by the Taliban on Wednesday is unclear and some reports say that the military operation and fighting is still ongoing in some areas.
The Taliban had blockaded the Bala Hisar fortress for two days before nearly 200 Afghan security personnel abandoned the position after running out of food and ammunition, according to security officials.
In recent days there have also been reports of fighting in neighbouring Baghlan province, where a former Nato base was said to be under attack.
There were also reports of fighting in several districts in Takhar province, to the east of Kunduz. The Taliban also claimed to have taken a district in western Farah province.
The BBC’s Dawood Azami says the Taliban is trying to open multiple fronts to divert the attention of the Afghan military from Kunduz and stretch them thin.
Kunduz, with a population of around 300,000, is one of Afghanistan’s largest cities, and is strategically important as a transport hub for the north of the country.
It is also a bread-basket for the region and possesses significant mineral resources.
Militant violence has increased across Afghanistan since Nato ended its combat mission in Afghanistan in December, leaving a 13,000-strong residual force used for training and counter-terrorism operations.
The assault on Monday was swift and took Afghan forces by surprise.
As darkness fell, heavily armed fighters crossed fields to attack the city from multiple directions.
They quickly overwhelmed several of the police checkpoints defending the perimeter of the town before moving into the centre.
Kunduz province has seen a number of attacks since April, with the Taliban joining forces with other insurgents.(BBC News)
Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34409292
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