Afghan officials say authorities retakes Kunduz; Taliban denies

Details of the overnight counteroffensive were emerging, also it wasn’t immediately clear which sections of the town of 300,000 were back under government control.

A Taliban spokesman denied the authorities commanded most of the remaining city and had retaken Kunduz, saying insurgent combatants were resisting government forces in the centre.

“After we got supports and began a huge operation inside Kunduz city, the Taliban can barely resist and escaped. We are going to provide a complete report shortly,” he added.

TALIBAN DENY

Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said the counteroffensive began at 11 p.m. on Wednesday and ended at 4 a.m. Thursday.

“At the moment, the Taliban have left Kunduz city. A clearance operation is continuing,” Waziri said.