DHAKA: Afghan officials say they have regained control of key areas of the northern city of Kunduz from the Taliban.

An operation launched overnight saw forces recapture government landmarks and inflict heavy casualties on the militants, officials said.

There has been no word from the Taliban, but some pictures on social media purport to show government forces around areas of the city, reports BBC.

It is the first time militants captured a city since being ousted in 2001.

Kunduz police chief spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussaini told BBC Afghan that the military had retaken the governor's office, the police chief's office and the intelligence agency building, adding that "Taliban bodies are lying around".

Afghan interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi also tweeted that "AFG (Afghan) Special Security Forces now controls Kunduz City, it is retaken and being cleared ".

However, the fate of a strategic Kunduz hill fort captured by the Taliban on Wednesday is unclear and some reports say that the military operation and fighting is still ongoing in some areas.

BDST: 1501 HRS, OCT 01, 2015
RS