At least 160 Taliban insurgents have been killed in a US troops operation in northern Kunduz province, local officials said on Wednesday.

The insurgents were targeted while gathered in various parts of Kunduz city, officials said.

Meanwhile, Faiz Mohammad Amiri, deputy provincial council head of Kunduz has urged government to launch a military operation against the insurgents.

Amiri who is with the security forces at Kunduz airport said that the Taliban insurgents attacked the airport on Tuesday night and were in clashes with the security forces for several hours.

"The insurgents moved back after the response of the security forces," he said. "The commando forces have arrived by air in Kunduz city but we are still waiting for the ground forces."

He also said that the Taliban insurgents had sustained massive casualties in clashes with the security forces on Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said the U.S. forces conducted an airstrike on the outskirts of Kunduz city which fell to the Taliban late Monday.

The airstrike was a "force-protection strike conducted by a fixed-wing manned aircraft" to eliminate a threat to coalition and Afghan forces in the area, Cook told reporters.

"We strongly condemn the attacks in Kunduz, and stand with the Afghan people in our commitment to Afghanistan's peace and security," he said.

The situation is a setback for Afghan forces, Cook acknowledged, but he said the United States has confidence in the Afghan government forces.

"We've seen them respond in recent weeks and months to the challenges they face, and they're doing the same thing in Kunduz right now," he said.

The situation remains fluid, the press secretary said, adding that it highlights the "ongoing challenge that the Afghan security forces are taking on every single day [and] the very dangerous situation that they face."

The United States will continue to work closely with its international partners and the Afghan government, he added.

LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/4235

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