Taliban Seizes Major North Afghan City of Kunduz

Afghan Forces Scramble to Regain City's Center After Overnight Surge

For the second time in a year, the Taliban has captured the major northern Afghan city of Kunduz, pushing into the city overnight and capturing the center of the city, the provincial capital of the Kunduz Province, and sending Afghan forces scrambling to react.

Fighting has continued throughout the day, and while some officials are claiming they’ve retaken the central square itself, the fighting is ongoing, and the Taliban has shown time and again that once they get into these cities, it isn’t so easy to expel them.

The Pentagon says US troops are ready to assist in the fight over the city, saying that a number of US “enablers” are already in the area to provide whatever support the government seeks. The last Taliban raid, in late 2015, saw them holding Kunduz for months.

Kunduz is one of three provincial capitals in Afghanistan that are facing imminent attacks by the Taliban, with their forces also having advanced one the past few days toward the outskirts of the cities of Lashkar Gah, and Tarin Kot.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.