Taliban Launch Fresh Attack in North Afghanistan


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Taliban militants attacked a market at Qale-e-Zal district in Afghanistan’s northern province of Kunduz on Monday morning, a local official said.

Governor of Qale-e-Zal Mahbubullah Saeidi said on Monday that the Taliban launched an attack on a bazaar in the city at around 4 a.m. local time, saying intense fighting continues between the militants and Afghan security forces.

He added that a police officer and 3 Taliban forces have been killed in the clashes so far.

Battles erupted in April in six districts in Kunduz province, a key northern stronghold close to the Tajikistan border, as well as around the provincial capital, which the Taliban captured and held for several days last year.

Afghan government forces have launched operations against the Taliban in 18 provinces of Afghanistan as fighting has intensified since the start of the militants' spring offensive in April.

On Sunday, a local official in Afghanistan’s central province of Uruzgan warned that the entire province is in danger of falling to the Taliban.