Fierce fighting was reported overnight and into today in the northern Afghanistan city of Kunduz, with the Afghan government claiming they’d killed 150 Taliban and by evening saying they’d effectively retaken the city, holding its center and moving around to mop up the remnants of Taliban fighters.
Taliban officials rejected the claims of a military victory over them in Kunduz, which they captured on Monday, and insisted that at this point they still control much of the city, with the fighting far from over. They also insisted they hold most of the surrounding districts.
Kunduz is a hugely important northern city, at about 300,000 people, and was historically the base of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, which formed much of the basis for the Afghan government during the US occupation. Losing the city to a Taliban offensive was a huge blow.
Afghan officials are presenting the defeat as very temporary, and saying their gains today underscore just how capable their military is of handling security against the Taliban. Many locals, however, seem to find it disquieting that major cities can still fall outright, even if those cities are retaken in a matter of days.