Afghan forces battle to retake Kunduz with U.S. air support

Afghan forces backed by U.S. air support battled Taliban fighters for control of the northern city of Kunduz on Tuesday, after the militants seized a provincial capital for the first time since their ousting 14 years ago.

The sudden fall of Kunduz on Monday was a major setback for the government of President Ashraf Ghani, which marked its first year in power on Tuesday, and raised questions over how ready Afghan forces were to tackle the Islamist insurgency alone.

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In video filmed by police officer Jan Mohammad, a Kunduz unit can be seen firing towards the Taliban, outside police headquarters in the city at mid-afternoon local time.

The government said its forces had regained the police headquarters and the city prison, which were overrun on Monday night, but the Taliban quickly rebutted the claim.

Ghani announced in a televised address that more reinforcements were on their way to regain the city, which he said had fallen partly because government forces had shown restraint to avoid civilian casualties.

In Washington Tuesday, the Pentagon expressed confidence in Afghan security forces as they battled Taliban fighters at Kunduz.

"Obviously this is a setback for the Afghan security forces," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told a news briefing. "But we've seen them respond in recent weeks and months to the challenges they've faced. And they're doing the same thing in Kunduz right now."

Supply lines to Kunduz city had been interrupted by fighting in surrounding areas, according to Western and Afghan security officials.

U.S. military planes struck Taliban positions on the outskirts of the city, a NATO spokesman said. The attack at about 9 a.m. (12:30 a.m. ET) marked the first U.S. airstrike to defend Kunduz.

Colonel Brian Tribus, a spokesman for the NATO-led coalition, denied reports later in the day that there had been civilian casualties in the airstrike. Precise losses in the fighting were not known.

The government said the militants incurred heavy casualties in the U.S. airstrike, which the Taliban also denied.

Afghan Defence Minister Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai told reporters that 17 Afghan security personnel had been killed and 18 wounded in the past 24 hours across the country.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said three militants had died and 11 were wounded, while at least 18 Afghan police had been killed.