[NATION.PK] The U.S. military carried out an Meanwhile,
...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38...
Sarwar Hussaini, a provincial police front man, told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named that Afghan forces have launched a multi-pronged operation around the city seeking to retake it.
The U.S. air attack was made "in order to eliminate a threat to the force," according to U.S. Army Col. Brian Tribus, a front man for the U.S. and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
missions in Afghanistan.
The U.S. military still has 9,800 troops in Afghanistan, but it was unclear Monday whether any American personnel were stationed near the fighting in Kunduz, about 150 miles north of Kabul
...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title
Most Evil Man in the Worldand didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either....
.
The potential fall of Kunduz would be a huge setback for Aghan President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
as he marks his first year in office.
Kunduz would give Taliban turbans a critical base of operations beyond their traditional strongholds in Afghanistan's south. Afghan government leaders and the U.S.-led coalition here view the battle for Kunduz as a key test of the Afghan cops in their continuing fight with the Taliban
The Taliban assault began shortly before dawn Monday when hundreds of Taliban fighters advanced into the city from four directions.
Although Afghan security units were backed by helicopter gunships, the Taliban took over a 200-bed hospital and overran the local prison, freeing hundreds of prisoners. From there, they seized the office of the governor, who was not in the city at the time.
The myrmidon group posted triumphant pictures to Twitter showing Taliban fighters hoisting their white-and-black flag throughout the city.
Kunduz, a hub for the country's once relatively stable grain-growing region, would hand the Taliban one of the linchpins of Afghanistan's economy. It also was the last Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan in November 2001, when the group's grip on the country collapsed in the face of opposition fighters and U.S.
If Taliban fighters succeed in keeping control of Kunduz, it would be the first time in 14 years that they have seized and held a city.