KABUL: Special forces from the US-led military coalition in Afghanistan battled militants on Wednesday near the northern city of Kunduz that was captured by the Taliban this week, a coalition spokesman and Afghan official said.

It was the first report of on-the-ground clashes between Taliban militants and foreign troops supporting their Afghan allies during three days of sometimes heavy fighting for control of the strategic city of 300,000.

Take a look: Nato troops reach Kunduz to support Afghan forces

Kunduz is the first provincial capital to fall to the Taliban since the Islamist movement was toppled from power in 2001.

The swift retaking of the city promised by President Ashraf Ghani has failed to materialise, as Taliban fighters dig into positions around the city and mine roads to prevent reinforcements from reaching weary Afghan forces.

They have also placed large containers across streets to further limit people’s movement in and out of Kunduz, said Ahmad Sahil, a local television producer inside the city.

In another setback for the government, nearly 200 Afghan security personnel abandoned Bala Hissar hill, a key outpost in Kunduz that overlooks the city’s main roads, after running out of ammunition and food, said an Afghan security official.

Troops fled the strategic position in pick-up trucks and Humvees. Dozens headed for shelter at Kunduz airport, where thousands of policemen and soldiers have already retreated in the last two days of fighting.

To the south, in neighbouring Baghlan province, a group of 800 Afghan troops on its way to reinforce Kunduz repelled a Taliban ambush and was waiting for bomb squads to clear the road into the city, said Afghan army officer Sayed Ahmad Mujahid.

They had only advanced about one kilometre during the day, he added.

Afghanistan’s intelligence agency said in a statement issued late on Tuesday that an air strike had killed Mullah Abdul Salam, the Taliban’s shadow governor for Kunduz province, and 15 others on the outskirts of the airport.

It was not possible to verify the report independently, and the Taliban denied the claim, later releasing what they said was an audio statement from Salam recorded on Wednesday.

At least three US air strikes have targeted Taliban positions near the city since the fighting broke out on Monday.

US special forces had been advising Afghan troops while operating from a temporary base at the Kunduz airport for several weeks, according to a special forces commander.

Coalition spokesman Col Brian Tribus gave few details about the foreign troops’ engagement with militants while supporting Afghan forces overnight, including the troops’ nationalities.

“Coalition special forces advisers, while advising and assisting elements of the Afghan Security Forces, encountered an insurgent threat in the vicinity of the Kunduz airport at approximately 1am, 30 September,” Col Tribus said.

He confirmed special forces fought the militants, but added: “This was done out of self-defence. When they encountered the threat, they defended themselves.”

Published in Dawn October 1st, 2015

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