The Taliban are at it again. Militants launched an attack on the city of Kunduz, Afghanistan, essentially ambushing them as they approached from all sides.
“I can confirm that intense gunbattles are going on around the city, but the Taliban have not been able to overrun any security checkpoint,” said Sayed Sarwar Hussaini, a spokesman for the provincial police chief.
The battle between the Taliban militants and the Afghan forces resulted in dozens of Taliban deaths, said Fawad Aman, a deputy spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense.
The Afghan Air Force responded with airstrikes, Aman added. Afghan forces had cleared Kunduz of Taliban fighters by Saturday evening, he said, though fighting continued around the outskirts of the city.
Amad said 36 Taliban fighters were killed, 10 were injured, and 32 surrendered. He said he did not have details about civilian casualties.
These attacks come as the United States and the Taliban have been trying to work out an agreement for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan.
This was actually the second attack in the past few days.
The first attack, according to Fox News resulted in 60 Taliban fighters [having] been killed in the assault. The bodies of three civilians and two security force members were taken to a hospital and at least 80 civilians were wounded, including women and children, according to provincial health director Esanullah Fazeli.
Nine of the victims were wounded as a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a major intersection in the city, following a push by Afghan security forces to move the Taliban toward the outskirts, said provincial council member Ghulam Rabani Rabani.
The Taliban also took control of several positions in civilian areas, including a hospital, although officials say Kunduz was still in government control.