The Afghan government claimed today that it had successfully retaken the northern city of Kunduz from Taliban militants who had controlled the city since Monday.
President Ashraf Ghani, appearing at a televised press conference with his defense and interior ministers, said the city was retaken in a six-hour assault with no fatalities among the government security forces. He praised the government troops, saying they, "were able to foil one of the most significant operations to have taken place in Afghanistan in 14 years."
Ghani warned that the "good news" from Kunduz, "should not make us complacent."
"The war is ongoing," he said.
Defense Minister Masoom Stanekzai said that sporadic clashes were still taking place as government forces continue to battle pockets of Taliban insurgents.
"Small guerrilla forces remain in various neighborhoods. We have to clear all the surrounding areas and open transport links so people can come and go," he said.
Interior Minister Noor-ul-Haq Ulumi defended the performance of the government in the initial fall of Kunduz.
Hundreds of Taliban fighters apparently entered the city over the recent Eid holiday and lay in wait until their operation to take the city was launched early Monday morning.
"We never took our eyes off the ball," Ulumi said. "We had to protect citizens and so the security forces retreated."
Ulumi seemed to acknowledge that the Taliban had scored a significant propaganda victory and was succeeding in making the government look ineffectual, saying the weakness of the government side "has always been in propaganda and marketing ourselves."
In a statement today, the presidential palace said Ghani will send a team to Kunduz to investigate how the Taliban had been able to infiltrate the city.
The fall of Kunduz to the Taliban on Monday marked a major setback for Afghan government forces, which have struggled to combat insurgents with limited aid from the US and NATO troops. The international forces' role has shifted to training and support after all NATO combat forces withdrew from Afghanistan at the end of last year.
Earlier today afternoon, before Ghani's press conference, the Taliban denied they had lost the city and the group's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that it was still in their hands, saying "the Taliban flag is still flying" over Kunduz.
The spokesman for the Interior Ministry said the operation to take back Kunduz was launched yesterday, with ground forces moving from the airport where they had massed since the city fell over roads that had been mined by the insurgents.
Sediqqi claimed that control of Kunduz "was taken by 3.30 am" today but conceded that an operation "to clear the city is ongoing" and could take some days.
