Roundup: Cleanup operation goes on in northern Afghan city amid Taliban resistance

It was a tough operation but on right track to sweep out Taliban militants from the northern Afghan city of Kunduz and ensure lasting peace there, acting governor of Kunduz province Hamdullah Daneshi said on Saturday.

"Since the armed insurgents have hidden in the houses of civilians, the cleanup operation goes on gradually but firmly," Daneshi told Xinhua.

However, he added the security forces were able to wipe out militants from a police district on Saturday and re-establish law and order there.

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has ordered the Afghan troops to protect civilians during the crackdown on militants.

"On the one hand, the security forces have been doing their best to protect the lives of civilians during house-to-house search, and on the other hand locate and arrest or kill the insurgents found in private houses," the provincial leader said.

Taliban militants stormed into Kunduz, some 250 km north of Kabul, on Sept. 29, but major parts of the city has been recaptured after the government forces launched counter-offensive last week.

Local residents confirmed the security forces recaptured the third police district of Kunduz, saying the situation has been improved in the district and people are coming out from their houses.

Nevertheless, fresh clashes erupted between security forces and Taliban insurgents Friday night on the southern parts of Kunduz, and sporadic fighting was still continuing.

"The fighting broke out in Bandar-e-Kabul and Saa Dara localities where the security forces were conducting patrol during a search operation," provincial police spokesman, Sayyed Sarwar Houssaini, told Xinhua.

Militants fired rounds of rockets from outer sides of the city during the clash, which struck several houses. One rocket hit a petrol station, triggering a huge fire in the area, he said.

Meantime, Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, chairman Wolesi Jirga or Lower House of the Afghan parliament, on Saturday lashed out at what he termed a slow process of cleanup operation in Kunduz, urging the president to accelerate the mop-up and retake the city at its earliest possible date. Endi