Taliban fighters on motorbikes have carried out hit-and-run attacks on Afghan forces trying to clear Kunduz city of insurgents, more than a week after the militant movement briefly seized the provincial capital.
Adopting new tactics, Taliban fighters have been firing at security forces at checkpoints and then melting away into residential areas, rather than directly engaging in gun battles, said Hamdullah Danishi, acting governor of the northern city.
“This is a new policy for the Taliban,” said Danishi. “They want to create fear among residents so they cannot resume their normal lives.”
The failure of United States (US)-trained Afghan troops and police to swiftly recapture Kunduz is an ominous sign for the government of President Ashraf Ghani and the administration in Washington.
It underscores concerns about national forces’ ability to protect the country when most of the remaining foreign troops leave.
Already North-Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) forces are a small fraction of their peak, now that their formal combat mission has ended, and US President Barack Obama is reassessing the timetable for a final drawdown which currently envisages removing all but a few US soldiers by the end of 2016.
Battles have raged around Kunduz for the last nine days as government forces, backed by US air strikes, have tried to drive out Taliban fighters.
Its brief capture was one of the Islamist militants’ biggest victories in the 14-year insurgency.