After the stinging blow of losing the city of Kunduz to the Taliban, the Afghan government says it has now reclaimed most of the provincial capital in a big operation backed by U.S. airstrikes.
But the shock waves of the Taliban's sudden seizure of the major northern city on Monday, their biggest victory in nearly 15 years, continue to reverberate.
........Afghan forces were still clearing insurgents out of various parts of Kunduz on Thursday after launching the operation to retake it the night before, government officials said. U.S. planes provided backup, carrying out a sixth airstrike.
But a Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, insisted the militants weren't done fighting in the city yet and had regained ground since the government's advance. The group also remains in control of at least two districts in the rest of Kunduz province.