Afghan National Army soldiers fire artillery during a battle with Taliban insurgents in Kunduz, Afghanistan, April 29, 2015. The U.S. military has sent fighter jets to Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz, where Taliban insurgents have launched a major offensive and overrun government checkpoints close to the main city, U.S. and Afghan sources said. REUTERS/Stringer
Reuters: Afghan forces struggle to drive back Taliban from besieged city
(Reuters) - The Afghan army and police on Thursday failed to expel Taliban fighters from the outskirts of a besieged provincial capital as a seventh day of fierce fighting put pressure on national forces struggling largely without U.S. military backup.
The Taliban push is a major test of the Afghan security forces trained by NATO, which ended its combat mission in Afghanistan in December, 13 years after the U.S.-backed military intervention that toppled the hard-line Islamist regime.
The governor of the northern province of Kunduz vowed that the capital, Kunduz city, would not fall to the insurgents, but acknowledged that pushing back the Taliban was proving tough.
"It goes very slowly because we do not want defenseless civilians to suffer," said governor Mohammad Omar Safi.
WNU Editor: I guess the reports on victory were premature .... Afghan Police Claim 'Core' Of Taliban's Northern Offensive Destroyed (Radio Free Europe)
More News On Afghanistan
Afghan Forces Press Counter-Offensive To Defend New Front Line Against Taliban -- WSJ
Afghan Forces Struggle To Push Taliban Back From Besieged Kunduz -- Radio Free Europe
Clashes leave 165 dead in Afghanistan -- SBS
U.S. military sends jets to northern Afghan city under siege -- Reuters
U.S. Jets Deploy as Afghan Forces Battle to Stop Taliban Advance -- Bloomberg
U.S. still has fighting role in Afghanistan -- UPI
Taliban Gains Pull U.S. Units Back Into Fight in Afghanistan -- NYT
Afghan official claims insurgents flooding in from Pakistan -- DAWN
Concern over Afghanistan casualties -- Independent.ie
Afghans increasingly frustrated with Ashraf Ghani over security, economy -- L.A. Times
How the 'Kunduz spa resort' turned into a Taliban den -- Deutsche Welle
Taliban Onslaught: What is Happening in Afghanistan? -- Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat
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