Off the wire
• Death toll of Nigeria suicide attacks rises to 18  • Iraq may ask for Russian air strikes on IS soon  • Dubai Airshow 2015 to feature space agency, 3D printing  • World Champion Germany: Therapy leads to happiness  • Beijing tourism booms in holiday week  • Israeli incitement against Palestinian prisoners unacceptable: official  • Roundup: Labor market impact by refugees debated in Finland  • Urgent: Indonesia unveils 3rd economic stimulus package  • Roundup: EU naval mission against migrant smugglers enters second phase in Mediterranean  • Second seed Berdych out of China Open  
You are here: 　 Home

Roundup: Cleanup operations continue in Afghan Kunduz city as thousands voice support to security forces

Xinhua, October 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Afghan security forces after recapturing major parts of Kunduz city, the capital of Kunduz Province, have begun cleanup operations and since Tuesday night have killed 15 Taliban militants in house-to-house search, Kunduz police spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussaini said Wednesday.

"Security forces have killed 15 Taliban rebels during house-to- house operations in Kunduz city since late Tuesday night," Hussaini told Xinhua.

He also said that the Taliban militants have hidden in the houses of local residents and the cleanup operations have been continuing slowly and cautiously to avoid harming civilians in the city.

The Taliban militants have been using the civilians as human shields, he added.

Taliban militants captured Kunduz city on Monday last week and since then hundreds of people including some 100 civilians have been killed and thousands others left their houses for safer places.

To recapture the city, government forces launched a counter- offensive on Thursday and so far, major parts of the city have been recaptured from the armed insurgents.

According to the locals, Taliban militants after capturing Kunduz have massively violated human rights, ranging from killing civilians to raping and looting banks and shops.

The alleged violations of human rights in Kunduz have prompted thousands of Afghans to announce support to the national security forces in the war against Taliban insurgents.

Former Afghan spy chief Amrullah Saleh in a public meeting attended by his supporters here Wednesday denounced Taliban fighters for committing war crimes in Kunduz city and called upon the United Nations to investigate the crimes committed by Taliban militants against humanity.

Thousands of people, mostly former Mujahideen who had fought against the erstwhile Soviet Union in 1980s and later against Taliban in 1990s have announced their support to the Afghan national security forces in Baghlan, Takhar, Badakhshan, Kandahar and Herat provinces and expressed their readiness to fight Taliban, side-by side with the government forces if necessary. Endi