Taliban Gives Kunduz Up To Northern Alliance

The Taliban have surrendered the town of Kunduz to the Northern Alliance, said the Afghan Islamic Press Agency (AIP) in a special news report. "General Abdul Rashid Dostum's fighters have entered Kunduz, and the Taliban has surrendered control of the city," AIP said. By Sunday midday, General Dostum's units peacefully occupied 70 percent of the territory of the town, which has a 30,000 population. Taliban militants and foreign rebels have been taken to the city of Mazar-e-Sharif. The troops loyal to General Dostum are taking apart Taliban's defence fortifications in the town streets. Meantime, forces of another Northern Alliance commander, Kadam Khan, have remained on their positions to the east of Kunduz. They had expected the surrender and did not enter the city. Fighting for Kunduz and Khanabad, the last two strongholds of the Taliban in northern Afghanistan, has been underway since November 11. According to different sources, the Tuluqan group of the Taliban was made up of 20,000 to 30,000 men. However, at the time when Kunduz surrendered, the number of its defenders totaled about 9,000, including about 3,000 foreigner fighters.