Forces belonging to the units of the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police Special Operations Forces and Public Order Forces in northern Balkh province are on the way to northern Kunduz province following the fall of Kunduz city to Taliban control.
The acting provincial governor of northern Balkh province Ata Mohammad Noor said the forces will arrive in Kunduz province later tonight to suppress the Taliban offensive.
Noor is currently out of the country to attend an international conference but in an online statement Noor said he is continuously in touch with the security officials in Kunduz regarding the coordinated attack by Taliban.
The Taliban militants took full control of the city later this afternoon following hours of heavy clashes with the Afghan security forces.
A local security official speaking on the condition of anonymity confirmed that the Taliban militants have taken control of the central prison along with the intelligence compound and the UN compound, provincial governor office and provincial police headquarter.
In the meantime, the deputy chief of staff of the Afghan National Army (ANA) Gen. Murad Ali Murad said the Afghan security forces retreated from Kunduz city to prevent civilian casualties.
Appearing in a press conference earlier tonight, Gen. Murad said the Afghan security forces did not fully respond to Taliban attacks as the militants have taken positions in residential houses and markets.
Is ANSF and NDS not studying Taliban way of fighting and coming up with new doctrines…it is very important to watch enemy closely and research has to be done on how they fight..this way only it can be defeated…the ANSF and NDS needs experts to help them out