Airstrikes kill 15 militants in Afghanistan as Taliban attempts to capture Kunduz city

KUNDUZ, AFGHANISTAN: JULY 5 – A total of 15 Taliban militants have been killed in airstrikes as the fighters have been mobilized to overrun Kunduz city, capital of Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province, an army spokesman in the province said on Monday.

Acting on a tip-off, warplanes from the Afghan government forces targeted Taliban militants gathering outside Kunduz city early Monday, killing 15 insurgents on the spot, spokesman Abdul Hadi Nazari said.

A number of arms and ammunitions of the militants were also destroyed during the raids, he added.

Taliban militants, who have captured five out of nine districts of the beleaguered Kunduz province and have been attempting to occupy the provincial capital Kunduz city, have yet to make comment on the airstrikes.

Fighting has intensified since the start of the withdrawal of the U.S.-led forces from Afghanistan on May 1 and the Taliban group has reportedly captured more than 100 districts in the conflict-torn country.

-XINHUA