Afghanistan: Taliban offensive on Kunduz was pushed back

Afghan security forces have fended off a Taliban attack on Kunduz. The offensive was halted thanks to the support of US forces, the Afghan Interior Ministry said.

The militants of the radical Islamic Taliban had begun their attack on Saturday night, taking key points in the provincial capital of northern Afghanistan during the day, including the Provincial Hospital, the Electricity Supply Center, and the city's Third Police District.

According to Einsatzkommando der Bundeswehr, eight of the attacks were fired at Kunduz's Camp Pamir, where German soldiers are stationed. Four of the projectiles were smashed in the camp. Bundeswehr soldiers were not injured. Currently there are "80 German forces" at Camp Pamir.

The situation in Kunduz should have normalized

To stop the offensive, Afghan Air Force flew at least five attacks against the Taliban. The US Air Force also broke into operations. According to the Afghan Ministry of Interior, the Taliban were beaten back in hours of fighting. The city of Kunduz is now free of militia fighters, said spokesman Nasrat Rahimi. The situation in the city has normalized.

Taliban spokesman Sabihullah Mujahid denied this presentation. The statements of the Afghan government are "propaganda" and "not true," he said to journalists. The Taliban would continue their positions in Kunduz.

Despite the military clashes over the weekend, the US and the Islamist militia are at the "threshold" of a peace agreement, according to US Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad. The agreement will reduce violence and "open the door for Afghans to negotiate a honorable and sustainable peace". The US diplomat also announced that he would travel to Kabul for "consultations" during the day.

The US, which invaded Afghanistan nearly 18 years ago, has been negotiating with the Taliban for a year about ending the conflict. A spokesman for Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani said the Taliban attack on Kunduz shows that the militia "does not believe in the opportunity for peace offered by the US and Afghanistan's governments."