Small Wars Journal

Taliban Fighters Attack Afghan City of Kunduz Amid Talks to Finalize U.S. Withdrawal

Sat, 08/31/2019 - 11:58am

Taliban Fighters Attack Afghan City of Kunduz Amid Talks to Finalize U.S. Withdrawal by Craig Nelson and Ehsanullah Amiri – Wall Street Journal

Taliban fighters stormed the northern Afghan city of Kunduz on Saturday, U.S. and Afghan military officials said, even as negotiators for the hard-line Islamist militia seek to finalize a U.S. troop withdrawal deal with American negotiators in Qatar.

The Taliban, who are demanding that U.S. and all other foreign forces leave Afghanistan, struck Kunduz, one of the country’s largest and most strategic cities, at about 1:30 a.m. local time, attacking it from three sides, the officials said.

More than 12 hours later, government forces, together with American advisers and U.S. warplanes, were battling to drive the militants out of the city of 300,000 people. Residents, many on foot, were fleeing the city amid the crackle of gunfire and thud of heavy weaponry, several witnesses contacted by telephone said. “My children are terrified,” Bashir Ahmad Safai said…

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