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Taliban forces 'defeated' in Kunduz
By late Monday evening, officials said government forces had taken back a central square that Taliban had occupied during the day, with the Kunduz governor later confirming that all fighting had ceased
Kunduz governor Asadullah Amarkhil said fighting in the city had stopped, and there were large numbers of Taliban casualties
The governor of Afghanistan's Kunduz province said that Taliban forces which staged an assault on the provincial capital have been defeated.
Asadullah Amarkhil said fighting in Kunduz city had stopped, and there were large numbers of Taliban casualties. He said that the clear-up operation was continuing but people should "start their daily life and go to their work".
"If there is any Taliban hiding inside the houses, we will clear that after dawn," he said in the early hours.
Early on Monday, Taliban fighters appeared to have breached the strategic northern city and seized some central areas.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Twitter that it was a "massive operation". The Taliban later said they had seized the roundabout and several checkpoints, but did not claim to have captured the city.
The fighting came a day before a major conference in Brussels to raise funds to ensure Afghan stability.
Kunduz was briefly captured by the Taliban in September 2015 in what was a huge blow to the country's Western-backed government. The militants abandoned the city after four days but they had proved their growing capability by taking their first major city,
After days of back-and-forth fighting, government forces, backed by Nato, recaptured the city.
