Taliban militants in Afghanistan have launched a major attack on Kunduz one year after briefly seizing control of the strategic northeastern city.
According to local officials, the Taliban militants began the “coordinated” assault from different directions in the early hours of Monday.
Government forces are engaged in fierce fighting against the militants in and around Kunduz, the capital of a province with the same name.
“We are putting all our efforts together to push them back,” said Sheer Ali Kamal, commander of the 808 Tandar police zone in the Afghan city.
Media reports said military helicopters were flying overhead and gunfire could be heard in the city.
A provincial official said militants have managed to reach the Se Saraka area of the city, Afghanistan’s Khaama Press reported.
The source added that the Taliban have blocked some key routes to other districts of Kunduz.
On September 28 last year, the Taliban militant group overran Kunduz in a lightning advance. The city was the only provincial capital to have fallen into their hands since the 2001 US-led invasion.
They remained in full control of the city for two days and eventually announced they were withdrawing from its outskirts on October 15.
Nearly 290 people were killed and hundreds more wounded during the violence, according to UN sources.
Editor's note: This article has been edited from the source material.
