Afghanistan: Taliban eliminated from Kunduz's Khanabad, says defense ministry

Kunduz has recently been a hotspot for the Taliban, which tried to take control of strategically important city near the Tajik border last week.

The Afghanistan government forces have fully cleared the Khanabad district of Kunduz province from the presence of Taliban militants, Ariana News reported on Friday, quoting the Defense Ministry. Kunduz has recently been a hotspot for the Taliban, which tried to take control of strategically important city near the Tajik border last week.

56 terrorists, 20 members of Afghan forces and 5 civilians were killed and many others were injured in the recent attacks in Kunduz, the interior ministry had said in a statement.

Kunduz has long been a strategically important city in the fight between Taliban and the Afghan government. In late September 2015, the Taliban attacked Kunduz, overwhelming local forces and briefly seizing the city. It was only through extensive US air support that the Taliban were repelled.

The event garnered particular global attention after a US gunship struck a hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), killing dozens of patients and staff.

The fall of Kunduz also underscored the vulnerability of Afghan security forces and played a role in stopping the pull-out of US forces under then-president Barack Obama. Since then the city has come under frequent Taliban attack, but the insurgents have been unable to pull off a full capture.