‘Tomorrow we take the White House,’ Taliban fighter in Kunduz threatens

As the fighting inside the northern Afghan city of Kunduz continues for its third day, a Taliban fighters stationed there threatened to “take the White House.” The ongoing fighting directly contradicts US military claims that Kunduz was “cleared” of the Taliban three days ago.

An unnamed Taliban fighter who claims to be in Kunduz threatened the United State while being videotaped at a checkpoint inside the city. The video, which was published by Afghan journalist Ahmed Yar, was published on Twitter.

“I say to Obama, today we take Kunduz, tomorrow … we will take the White House,” the Taliban fighter says (video is below).

The fighter levels his threat against the US as armed fighters man the checkpoint and stop cars moving on the busy road.

After initially denying on Oct. 3 that there was fighting in the city, Resolute Support, the NATO command in Afghanistan, claimed that Afghan forces “control Kunduz”. However, reports from Afghanistan indicate that clashes inside the city continue, and the Taliban remains entrenched.

Yesterday, reports from Kunduz indicated that the front line in Kunduz was just outside of the governor’s compound in the center of the city. It is unclear if the situation has changed for the better. According to TOLONews, “Residents and security force personnel also say the Taliban has control of large parts of the city and only the governor’s compound, the NDS headquarters and a few other government buildings are still in the control of security forces.”

The US military has launched two airstrikes in Kunduz, and the commander of Afghan forces said that the Taliban has launched attacks from the south and east of the city as Afghan forces begin “clearance operations,” The Associated Press reported.

The Taliban took control of Kunduz for two weeks last fall, and also threatened the city earlier this year. The provincial capitals of Helmand and Uruzgan are also under direct threat, and reports from Baghlan indicate that the Taliban fighting on the outskirts of Pul-i-Khumri.

A Taliban fighter in #Kunduz today detailing the situation in English at a checkpoint they built in the city. http://pic.twitter.com/sXNRYH6DxV

— Ahmet Yar (@Pashtunist) October 5, 2016

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of The Long War Journal.

Tags: Afghanistan, Taliban

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