Taliban fighters have captured an area adjacent to the capital of northern Kunduz province following a day of clashes. The district’s seizure is the latest success in the militant movement’s spring offensive.
Taliban fighters, who were reported to be advancing on the Qalay-i-Zal district northwest of Kunduz on Friday morning, announced on Saturday that they had taken the local police headquarters, all security checkpoints, and the governor’s compound. Several Afghan police officers and soldiers were killed and injured in the fighting, Reuters reported, citing a statement made by spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
Police spokesman Mahfouz Akbari said security forces have been pulled out of Qalay-i-Zal to avoid further casualties.
The Taliban, which announced its annual spring offensive last week, has since gone after targets in the northern province of Badakhshan, as well as Helmand and Kandahar in the south, en force.