we go to our correspond 45km south of kunduz. how are they making progress towards kund us. >> no progress. we are here and are in process from the forces inside kunduz city. the latest that we are getting from kunduz city is that they are telling us the taliban are searching house to house and forcing afghan civilians to join against the government. they are announcing in the last week, to the people of kunduz to condition their normal life, and asking shopkeepers to open their crops and telling, promising people that they are going for long. as far as we know there's no operation in kunduz city. everyone is waiting for the right description, for the right time. here i'm joined by the captain, and he'll explain why they are stuck and why they are not going further, to kunduz. >> we want to fight against afghan because they want to get to the area we promised to. we started at 4:00p.m. they fell in the area. them had a lot of casualty. one of the important reason, is we didn't wouldn't to bring them, the generals, the commander i

retake attack of kunduz city.ces we talked with them, they said the reason that there is lack of leadership and also a lack of coordination because the forces are afghan army, afghan police they don't have one lead tore order them what to do. now the plan is for them to go to the villages around the main road and clear the villages from the taliban and then slowly, slowly move towards kunduz city. we talked to our correspondent in kunduz city he says there is not much movement there. afghan security forces are still based at the airport of kunduz, taliban are trying to plan an attack to the airport and also afghan security forces are trying to plan a an attack from the airport to the city. but the airport is just about short of kunduz city. some senior afghan defense minister officials arrived in kunduz to plan the attack. >> we understand that nato has reached there. will they engage the taliban? >> reporter: well, we are hearing from kunduz that some mayo special forces are in the ground are trying to launch an

are they making progress and taking kunduz back?reporter: the afghan government says this they are making progress, but on the ground as we spoke to residents and people, they haven't seen much progress so far. the calf began government assured -- afghan government assured the people that by the end of the day they will clear kunduz province. as we are speaking now, a number of troops, reinforce think troops that were on the way from kabul to kunduz province they were ambushed in between kabul and kunduz. we heard that they sustained some injuries, but we could not confirm what were the number of casualties there. so it seems that getting reinforcement to kuh kunduz cits getting more difficult. there were afghan reinforcements sent by air last night. afghan special forces and afghan commanders arrived at kunduz airport. afghan government say that they have launched operation to take the city back. we also heard reports that the u.s. forces have conducted air strike early tuesday morning in kunduz province. reports also suggest that

taliban fighters are now in control of large parts of kunduz city.they are symbolically raising their flag in the city square. this battle is not over the afghan government has announced a major military operation to recapture kunduz. >> translator: in the first place we should take care of the civilian casualties, we have already paid attention and we will continue. the enemy has conceded heavy damages including the air strikes and the operation, i don't want to go into the detail of the operations. >> reporter: special forces have been brought in and the u.s. military confirmed an air strike on the outskirts of the city on tuesday morning. but it's proven difficult for some reenforcements to reach kunduz because the taliban set up boobie traps along the way. as part of the take over on montalb montalban gunman released inmates and fighters and issued a statement telling residents not to worry and to go about their daily lives. it will be difficult with a major military operation underway. [gunfire] one of the most significant territorial gains tali

is not in kunduz at this stage, he is in pakistan and the chief is also not in kunduz, only the chiefthere. as far as i received the resent news from kunduz, the talibans are trying to cut the road to the airport of kunduz because the government should not support the police forces and army in kunduz and a war is going around the city, not south and the east of the city from both sides, the tall been -- taliban are there and afraid and inside the houses and nobody else in the streets or the city. taliban in the past hours attacked the house and university and entered the university and have entered to the pruvential. >> and you represented kunduz province before and how much authority do they have in the capitol kunduz? >> which the district is under the control of taliban for the past four months. the local government of the streets are under the control of the taliban are there and have received the support from the north of kunduz and out of kunduz as in the part of pakistan and also in the district of archie and they are receiving support from the islamic movement of pakistan also

taliban fighters raise their flag in the center of kunduz while in fighting of forces is hindering the fight back. ♪ hello, you are watching al jazeera and also ahead the u.n. secretary-general condemns air strikes that reportedly killed up to 135 people at a wedding in yemen. typhoon makes landfall in eastern china after causing chaos in taiwan. shell pulls out of the arctic, good news for the environment, look at what made them quit. ♪ in afghanistan taliban fighters are firing missiles at the main airport of the northern city of kunduz where security forces are stationed, the city was seized by taliban fighters in the early morning rain on monday and first stephanie decker has details. >> there are no government troops left here and taliban fighters in control of large parts of kunduz city and here they are raising their flag in the city square and this battle is not over, the afghan government announced a major operation to recapture kunduz. >> translator: in the first place we should take care of the civilian casualties and the enemy has heavy damage including air strikes and oper

a battle for kunduz the u.s. launs airstrikes on the after ban city with taliban fighters are making advances. ♪ ♪ >>> hello, you are watching al jazeera live from doha. also ahead, five people are sentenced to death in india for the 2006 mumbai traina at. the russian parliament approves president putin's request to deploy troops abroad. and protesters take aim at u.n. peacekeepers in the central african republic. >>> we begin in afghan that where nato says its special forces have now reached the northern city of kunduz the troops are there to help bolster the afghan army who huh been staging ago a tan against the taliban. u.s. forces launched air trikes close to the airport trying to keep it in government hands. stefanie dekker reports. >> reporter: there are no government troops left here. taliban fighters are now in control of large parts of kunduz city. here they are symbolically raising their at that flag in the city square. this battle is not over. the afghan government has announced a major military operat

why kunduz and why now?ll, kunduz is a province bordering pakistan and also bordering another province so there have been insecure in the past in kunduz and taliban managed to control three key districts of kunduz and the fighting season this year have seen more fighting in northern afghanistan. >> thank you for that with that update from kabul. world leaders in new york for the u.n. general assembly with the war in syria high on the agenda and putin is due to make the u.s. president barack obama later and no plans to deploy combat troops to syria and there is disagreement about the future role of president bashar al-assad in any agreement. >> reporter: france has been involved in strikes on aisle targets in iraq for over a year but now for the first time the french president has ordered his airforce into action over syria in what he told reporters was an act of self-defense. >> translator: france struck on a training came of islamic state of levant threatening the country and we prevent the country and to a

city and we are also hearing from kunduz city the forces there are in one side of kunduz city and tryingt into kunduz city, they couldn't because of strong resistance and now we are hearing that taliban are the ones controlling the city, the kunduz city. >> what have people been saying those who have been caught in the city and what has been happening to them? >> there is a big panic. you could see families leaving the area and if you talk with the normal people they say even if taliban were here and strong after this big jail break that over 600 prisoners were there and most of them were with taliban fighters but this number they will get stronger in this area and it will be different for afghan government to fight them in this area so it's a big panic among normal afghan people between the two fights. >> are you getting a sense the aim of the mission, one of the aims was to target that person to release the taliban fighters? >> it was very easy to understand this attack had two aims, one was this jail break with over 600 prisoners were released and the second was a message for internat

in kunduz with talked with the people of kunduz, the residents. people are leaving the city going to the north side of the province, the neighboring province. the taliban are announcing in the loud speakers to the people to continue their lives and asking them to cooperate with them, to bury their bodies and other help if they can. also, taliban is going door to door or house to house searching for young boys to join them. they're forcing people to join them in the fight against the government. >> that's our report from afghanistan. >>> doctors without borders says its hospital in kunduz has been inundated since the fighting began. more than 170 people have been injured in recent days. >>> russia's president putin has the go ahead from parliament to deploy russian troops to syria. moscow has built up the military presence in a coastal city in syria in recent months. the kremlin says the goal is to help the assad government fight isil. the senior officials says the parliament's authorization applies to the use of the russian air force, not ground t

and ieds and also in kunduz city it seems like the security forces that they reach kunduz by air andtried to enter kunduz city from the outskirts from the base and they failed because they have a strong resistance of taliban. >> getting updates and thanks for that. the u.n. secretary-general now is condemning air strikes which reportedly killed up to 135 people at a wedding in yemen. it happened in a village near the red sea port on monday, the saudi-led coalition conducting an air campaign in yemen denies any involvement and our correspondent has reported extensively on yemen and is now with me in the studio and first of all do we know the facts yet of exactly what exactly happened at this wedding, who attacked it? >> there has been an attack targeting a wedding. there were dozens of people who are turning to the wedding, mostly women and children in the village in tell port city and this is an area which is under the control of the houthis. unfortunately to the pull president saleh it has been attacked in the past and intense fighting of those areas and a push by the saudi-led coal

the insurgents been secured their hold on kunduz. it's a major blow to the government, exactly year after he took our do it he said more reinforcements were on the way, urging the nation to trust its troop. >> the problem is that this treacherous enemy has used civilians as human shields. afghanistan's government is a responsible government. we cannot bomb our own citizens. the taliban took kunduz in less than a day, raising their flag over the city center by monday evening. it's one of the group's biggest victories and the first time it's taking control of a provincial capital since being ousted 14 years ago. afghan security forces launch their counteroffensive from the airport, but taliban fighters soon turn your attention there, advancing south and clashing with government forces just meters away from the complex. the fall of the city is a stunning loss for the government. less than the year after nato combat troops withdrew from afghanistan, it raises questions as to whether afghan forces can defend the country along. sarah: so h

when do you think he can retake kunduz from taliban? >> we'll go in the 24 hour and retake kunduz province. >> the u.s. is now reportedly looking at slowing the pace of the u.s. troop draw down in afghanistan. currently about 6800 u.s. members on the ground there. by the end of next week we'll know who the next house speaker will be. the current speaker john boehner released this statement. after consulting with our conference, a large majority of our members have made clear that they want these elections held next week. with their considerations in mind the house leadership election also take place on thursday october 8th. the house today will take up a stop-gap government funding bill easily pass the senate and will keep the government running through december. but the measure does not defund planned parenthood, a demand that some republicans were making. michael shure joins us from washington. does that mean that the government will not be shutting down? >> well, it depends on what your definition of when is. it will not for now. the

the airport is in the outskirts of kunduz city. that's where all officials from kunduz city and security forces are stationed now and trying to survive. the taliban are getting close to the walls of that airport trying to get in to the airport. >> the u.s. pentagon has described the fall of kunduz as a set back but has full confidence in the forces. >> there were many questions raised at tuesday's pentagon briefing whether the afghan military is up to the task of defending its country from the taliban and other groups. here is the response from spokesperson peter cook. >> we've seen the afghan security forces face challenging time and also rise to that challenge in several occasions. this is not--this is a difficult fight for them they are risking their lives every day. our effort to train them and provide support has helped. they're in a better position today because of the support provided to them. >> the pentagon spokesperson also said that u.s. forces as well as other members of the coalition are in the kunduz area to provide t

air strike hits a target outside kunduz. that makes landfall after ia after causing taye as in itan. and live to mars could be a possibility. scientists reveal evidence of flowing watter on the red planet. ♪ ♪ >>> leaders of the u.s. and russia have held face-to-face talks in the u.n. in new york over how best to resolve the conflict in syria. but they can't see eye to eye when it comes to the role of president bashar al-assad of syria. our diplomatic editor james bays reports. >> reporter: russia's president normally avoids this annual gathering of world leaders at the u.n., but he came here on a whistle stop trip planning not even to spend a night in new york. the centerpiece of his speech the idea of a grand coalition against isil. >> translator: we propose discussing, whether it's possible to agree on a resolution aimed at coordinating the actions of all of the forces that confront isil and other terrorist organizations. once again, this coordination should be based on the principles of the u.n. charter. >> reporter: tha

peace keeping troops to somalia and south sudan, 8 dead, more than 50 wounded in a taliban attack on kunduznorthern afghanistan. one year on from mass protests in hong kong a standoff between protesters and police once again. ♪ and russia president vladimir putin is to meet with u.s. president barack obama on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly, the crisis in syria is likely to dominate their discussion with russia asserting its support for the bashar al-assad regime and influence and the navel base is in the port where it stationed some of the black sea fleet and russia is syria's biggest arms supplier and continues to provide the assad regime with the means to crack down on them and moscow as a financial investment with valued at more than $19 billion in 2009, russia has consistently opposed any condemnation of bashar al-assad and any sanctions against his government as the conflict began in 2011. james base is live for us at the united nations in new york, james, is a deal coming together on syria before the most powerful countries? >> i think it's far too early to say that, sammy

he promised to retake kunduz but said it was not be easy. the problem, he says, is that the enemy has use civilians as human shields. this is the taliban's new leader. he is actually a supporter of peace talks. yet, even so, under him the taliban has been more effective. the worrying thing about all of this is how far across the top of afghanistan the taliban stretches. they have been fighting in their traditional strongholds and elsewhere in the south for years, but in the city of kunduz and the surrounding kunduz province, they are far away from the original taliban support centers. now that the fighting is printed the talibant makes look more and more like a nation-wide opposition. 11 months ago, british combat troops withdrew from afghanistan. the official line was that the afghan national army was now strong enough to carry on the fight alone. his record has not been bad. -- his record has not been bad, but it has not stopped the taliban, as the fall of kunduz shows. haveth the afghan forces shown over the last year is that they are pre

these reinforcements forces that before they get close to kunduz city, like 45 kilometers south of kunduz city, they're facing resistance by taliban from other provinces. >> yesterday the taliban freed some 600 soldiers from the prison -- prisoners rather from the prison in kunduz. what's the significance of that? >> reporter: some people in kunduz city are telling us that they have seen people, prisoners that were released yesterday. today they join the taliban, and they took guns alongside of taliban and fighting against afghan army forces. so it is clear that the taliban were aiming to really break that, because many of their fighters were serving time in that jail and now most of them are behind them. so they gain more troops from that break, and also now just to let you know we are hearing some gun battle behind us. these forces are trying for the fourth time since this morning to get advanced. i think they were ambushed again. that's what we're hearing. >> thanks indeed. he's on the front lines with afghan forces in bagluno on their way to kunduz at the moment, which is under the co

the attack is one of a string of events that left the group in control of most of kunduz city. the people of congress is under fear, they are in fear of the house, no one is in the street orr the city. they are worrying about the attacks. >> reporter: the afghan interior ministry sent special enforcements, and air support. it's an unpredicted situation. the taliban made major games in kunduz since fighters surrounded the city in the early hours of monday morning. government leaders say the stay -- city will be retaken. there has been casualties on both sides, bodies of fighters and a policeman killed in the fighting. civilians are reported to be caught up in the battle for the city. it's the first time the taliban has taken control of kunduz, since the u.s.-led invasion in 2001. kunduz was the taliban's former northern stronghold before the government was overthrown 14 years ago. taliban fighters hold some part of the province, laying in the north of the country with main roads connecting it and the -- connecting it to the rest of afghanistan and t capital kabul. the u.s. and n

kunduz is a key city with strong ties.n route of ka jik stan runs through that province. >> good to have you with us. u.s. military operations are supporting afghan efforts to retake kunduz. how much progress has been made so far? >> i'm afraid they haven't made a lot of progress since yesterday morning. the authorities claim to have taken parts of kunduz back, including police headquarters, but that seems dubious. quite the contrary, the taliban are now pushing towards the airport in kunduz, would be a strategic win. and they're broadening a front in a neighboring province, attacking government facilities and military checkpoints. so far this battle for kunduz seems to be more prolonged than many had anticipated. >> yeah, it is worth highlighting for our viewers that this attack on kunduz happened just a ahead, a day before the one-year anniversary of the president being in office. this is a huge blow to his credibility. >> yes, that's how many afghans see it as well. they're doubting the president's ability to secure the

and nato continue their fight for the control of the city of kunduz. the man accused of destroying cultural sites now faces war crime charges at the international criminal court. >> hello, russia has launched it's first airstrikes in syria. it's defense ministry said that 20 missions targeted fighters from the islamic state in iraq and the levant. there are, however, other groups that they would hit, some that may be allied to the u.s. coalition in syria. roslind jordan has details. >> russian fighter jets flying around the city of homs. moscow said it was targeting isil fighters in and around the city. president vladimir putin said he was committed to help his country's long-time ally to defeat the group. >> we'll support the syrian army only in legitimate fights. secondly the support will be from the air without participation in ground operations. and third, such support will be limited in time as long as the syrian army is on offensive. >> the airstrikes started just one day after leaders agreed to hold deconflicts talks. but instead of talks, the u

children and women are dying inside kunduz because of hunger. >> many residents are fleeing kunduz, fearing for their lives. while the number of dead and wounded are unclear aid workers fear many more civilians may be killed or injured if fighting continues. >> still to come on the program. tens of thousands of protesters march against corruption in south africa. plus... >> in southern argentina where satellites are made. one has been blast into orbit, and here they're very excited. >> hello again. and going to the stop stories on al jazeera. russia has carried out 20 airstrikes against isil targets in syria. the u.s. believes the attacks may have been in areas where there were no isil forces. >>> the flag of palestine has been raised at the united nations for the first type as the palestinian president talked to the general assembly saying that the country was no longer bound by the oslo accord. >>> the battle to regain the city of kunduz has intensified and engaging in ground clashes for the first time. india has sentenced five men to death for the 2006 mumbai train blasts. they have been

taliban fighter are in control of large parts of kunduz city. here they are raising their flag in the city square. this battle is not over. the afghan government announced a major military operation to recapture kunduz. >> in the first place we should take care of civilian casualties. we have paid attention, and we will continue. i don't want to go into the detail of the operation. >> special forces have been brought in, and the u.s. military confirmed an air strike on the outskirts of the city on tuesday morning. it is difficult for some reinforcements to reach kunduz because the taliban set up booby traps. as part of a takeover on monday, the gunmen broke open the prison, releasing inmates, most taliban fighters. commanders issued a statement telling residents not to worry, and to go about their daily lives. it will be difficult with a major operation unt way. it's a significant territorial gain since 2001, went the government was deposed by the u.s.-led invasion. it coincides with ashraf ghani's first anniversary as president, and the first y

we talked with couple of people in kunduz city. they are living now under taliban.y are telling us today taliban used a loud speaker and announced normal identity to the people in kunduz city, telling them continue with your normal life and open your shops, because they are promising people that they are not going that quick. but afghan security forces have been promising since early this morning that they will retake kunduz city today. but we are seeing a strong resistance from taliban, not only in kunduz city, even along the road, these reinforcement forces that before they get close to kunduz city, like 45 kilometers, they are facing resistance by taliban from other province. >>> take you straight to the u.n. general assembly now and listen to petro poroshenko, the ukraine president. >> -- i wish you every success in your activity in this crucial historic moment. our future will largely depend on the outcomes of this session, and our collective decision whether we will choose to follow the path of peace, security, human rights, or we'll plunge into the turmoil of

to retake kunduz city. but four times they have tried all time they were ambushed by taliban on their way and after they were not providing the underroad, the road was blocked. sandbags taliban put sandbags on the road. they built a wall on the road, so to make sure that these forces cannot reach kunduz. and now the forces are still waiting in the province, and waiting to see what can going to happen tomorrow. >> obviously very important developments in afghan stab, i know you are be following them for us for the moment. al jazeera, thank you. >> three new countries nigeria, tunisian and malaysia have now head the coalition fighting against the islamic state of levant. the u.s. president says if anti-isil forces keep working tot, then the group will be defeated. >> there are profound changes taking place in the middle east. and north africa. there are problems that have built up over decades. that are expressing themselves and manifesting themselves in organizations like isil. of if we were to wipe out the

it talks about how symbolic kunduz is. recapture of the city is a military, political, and propaganda coup for the taliban. it marks a shift in strategy for the taliban and. in recent months and years, they have been waging war against government forces, but in rural areas. here they are moving into a big city. it is also a big test for afghan forces. anulled out a cartoon in arab paper based in london focusing on the afghan government. the afghan government here on the left guzzling up this potion drink. what is that drink? it is international help written on the bottle there. inre is one last drop left that bottle. meanwhile, the taliban vultures are watching the situation. genie: let's focus on french politics. shuou do not know who alan pay is a career politician, the mayor of bordeaux, who now has his eye on the presidency. flo: he has been around since the 1980's. a former prime minister former foreign minister as well. the 70-year-old plans to stay around a little bit longer, and he wants to represent his party. of

kunduz is a well off agriculture area.troops and police than the taliban had with the 500 fighters that came into town. they came in early yesterday morning and went to hospital and searched for government troops and went to the local university and the jail and freed 500 prisoners. took control of the town. the government forces forced outside. now the government on the forward foot and rushed in reinforcements. they will try with the help of the air strikes try to retake the town. the key here is and we have seen it before with the taliban. when they get into a town this quickly and easily, that means they have supporters there. this attack has been seen coming for months. the taliban has been building up for six months since april of this year. the government really in some ways has no excuse for losing it in the first place. clearly an important issue to retake it and the question is how were they able to lose it in the first place. >> do you see the u.s. getting more entrenched in this? >> reporter: the u.s. has a lot

air strikes in support of some sort of taliban effort in kunduz. do you have any sense of how big a fight is happening for kunduz in do we know what the air strikes were for. >> we were told late tonight by senior u.s. military officials there are thousands of after gan security forces massing around kunduz about to take on the taliban. there are several thousand taliban there reportedly, as well. these air strikes what we learned was early today there was one that took out a tank that the taliban had stolen from the afghan security forces and was threatening the coalition that's there. later today there have been several more air strikes late tonight including one that was early wednesday morning afghan time. those are centered around the airport. why the airport? that's where all the many of the afghan security forces retreated to when the taliban started taking kunduz yesterday on monday. in addition to the afghan security forces of course, there are some coalition advisors including american special forces and some german troops. so that's wher

why is kunduz a strategically important city? it's one of the largest cities in northern afghanistan. it's estimated around 300,000 people live there. it's important as a transport hub. kunduz is linked by highways to kabul in the south and sa riff in the west. the border with tajikistan is very poor and used to transport opiates in central asia. the city is one of the last taliban onclaves to fall during the 2001 u.s.-led i invasion. al jazeera is traveling with the afghan army in baglund and sent this update. >> reporter: it seems like the taliban are trying to spread the war all along the north of the country. these soldiers are waiting in the past few minutes and are panicking and have received some reports there's a big attack on them. even here they say it's not safe for them. we talked with the people of kunduz and residents. people are leaving the city, going to the north side of the province to a neighbor province. the taliban are announcing in the loudspeakers to the people to continue their lives and also asking them t

their mission in the battle for kunduz.

outside of kunduz city, and that's where all the government offices from kunduz and the security forces are stationed now. and trying to survive. the taliban aren't even getting close to the walls of the airport, trying to get into the airport. >> traveling there with the afghan steam, we will be checking in with you as you get closer to kunduz for the moment, thank you. ♪ . >> barack obama has always been an international conference on counter terrorism on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly. three new countries have now joined the u.s. led coalition fighting against the islamic state of iraq. and the u.s. president says if anti-isil fors keep working tot, the group will be defeated. >> there are profound changes taking place in the middle east, and north africa. there are problems that have built up over decades that are expressing themselves and manifesting themselves in orses like isil. even if we were to wipe out the entire leadership, we would still have these forces at work. but ultimately i am optimistic, in iraq and in syria, isil is surrounded by communities countries a

we go to our correspond 45km south of kunduz. what is the latest you are hearing on the fight. >> n.a.t.o. issued a statement saying special forces reached the province. they are there to assist forces. now, in the plast few month. the taliban are little them leave the city. people are complaining about a shortage of food, and there is no electricity. so life is miserable in the city. in the meantime the city of kunduz getting ready for an upcoming battle. >> are n.a.t.o. special forces engaging the taliban in kunduz. >> they are engaging. they would be with them. we heard in the morning they would fight taliban, but it was not easy. they are back in the airport trying to plan a bigger obligation. these are getting air support. they are trying to push further. they are trying to get closer. they are attacked by taliban. what lacking for the army. as you say. by the u.s. air strikes, they have not managed to progress. what is not working out for the army? >> in the past two days, over 1,000 afghan security forces are well armed. a

the call ban fighters are controlling large parts of kunduz city. and here they are raising the flag in the square. the afghan government has announced a major operation to recapture kunduz. >> in the first place, we should take care of the civilian casualties. we have already paid attention, and we will continue. the enemy has severe damages. and i don't want to go into the detail of the operations. >> special forces have been brought in, and the u.s. military confirmed an airstrike on the outskirts of the city in the no longer. they have set up booby traps along the way. as part of the takeover on monday, the tall began gunmen broke open kunduz's prison, releasing inmates, most of them taliban fighters. and they released a statement, telling the residents not to worry, and go about their daily lives. and that will be difficult with the major operation underway. it's one of the most significant territorial gains that the taliban fighters have made since 2001. ashraf ghani's first anniversary as president, facing the taliban alone after the u.s. and

in the crew of kunduz which is in northern afghanistan. and apparently it didn't take much of a push for them to get the city. the reporting is it took only about 400 or 500 taliban fighters to overwhelm or at least scare off several thousand afghan security forces or police officers supposes to be defending kunduz especially after the taliban attacked before earlier this year. but now that the taliban has taken over in that city and literally raised their taliban flag over kunduz, they've reportedly blown up banks and looted bank vaults all over kunduz and reportedly opened the doors of the city's largest prison and freed hundreds of prisoners. after all this just happened in what feels like a lightning bolt, afghanistan's number two official who was here in new york standing the u.n. general assembly, he turned around and went home toe help oversee the response to this crisis. the afghan president promised that kunduz would soon be back under government control because he said a continuer offensive was under way by afghan forces. reporti

kunduz is not that unravel iingt a least not yet. it is a one city and major setback, but it is not a taliban sweep all through afghanistan as we did with the islamic state in iraq. so we are positioned is with our forces there, with the commander s there to help the afghans steady out, and then one hopes to retake the city. without us there, what is bad news to day would be far worse tomorrow. >> and billions of dollars spent to train the afghan and iraqi troops as well, and a lot of people are wondering why to send that kind of money over there if after the u.s. leaves and at some point the u.s. will leave, it is simply going to go back to either the taliban in afghanistan or the militias taking over, and pro iranian militias or whatever in iraq? >> the argument i would make, wolf, is precisely that. it is about the u.s. leaving. it does not work to pushing a whole lot of money into standing up a major military and then to say, you are on your own. this can be a multi year, and even a generational process. and its chances of succes

. >>> afghan forces send reinforcement to retake kunduz. >>> thousands of protesters have taken partn anti-corruption marches in south africa. >>> and digging and diving for gold, the philippines is accused of failing to protect children who risk their lives in the rush to mine the valuable metal. ♪ >>> we begin with the u.n. where russia's foreign minister has been chairing a security council meeting of isil and other groups. it comes as moscow says it has launched its first air strikes against isil targets inside syria. president bashar al-assad had asked for help from the russians and has welcomed moscow's decision. the kremlin says the military operation will be limited to air strikes. the move is likely to increase tensions between russia and the west. the international community has criticized president vladimir putin for russia's increased military presence inside syria. >> translator: we believe that there is a need to include the islamic state as a separate entity on the anti-terrorist sanctions list of the security council. any delay would be counterproductive. >> well more

kunduz is the gateway to central asia. jamie mcintyre is at the pentagon. >> that airstrike was directed at protecting u.s. troops on the ground. it took out a tank that was heading to the airport where the american and german troops were advising the afghans on on the outskirts of kunduz. under the post combat rules it doesn't have the north to do that. >> unlike in iraq where the u.s. is providing close air support afghan security forces are on their own and have been for nine months. when taliban fighters overran the city of kunduz, there was no fight in the assault. >> alongly this is a set back nor the afghan security forces. we've seen them respond in recent weeks and months in the challenges they face and they're doing the same thing in kunduz right now. >> in ramadi and iraq in airplane, they were routed a much smaller isil force, relatively few taliban fighters overwhelmed afghan government troops reported to be in the thousands. therthey would tell the new york sometimes that there was a lack of leadership. they

a battle for kunduz. taliban fighters seize large part of a strategic city in northern afghanistan. german prosecutors open a criminal investigation into former volkswagen boss worn as t emissions scandal widens. could there be life on mars? scientists say flowing water, essential to life, is almost essentially present on the red planet >>> tackling the frank yallop >>> tackling the islamic state of iraq and levant, ending the war in syria dominated the first day of the united nations, general assembly in new york. world leaders took their turns for offering solutions. clear divisions remain between russia and the united states. diplomatic editor is at the united nations and has our report. >> reporter: russia's president normally avoids this gathering of world leaders at the u.n., but he came on a whistle-stop trip planning not to spend a night in new york, the center peace of his speech, the idea of a grand coalition against i.s.i.l. >> we prepares discussing whether it's possible to agree on a resolution aimed at according the actions of all forces confronting i.s.i.l. and other

afghan forces send reinforcem t reinforcements to retake kunduz. >>> tens of thousands of protestersake part in anti-corruption marches in south africa. >>> digging and driving for gold, the philippines is accused of failing to protect children who risk their lives in the rush to mine the valuable metal. ♪ >>> we begin in syria where russia says it has launched its first air strikes against targets inside the country. bashar al-assad has asked for help from the russians and has welcomed their decision. the move is likely to increase tensions between russia and the west. the international community has criticized president vladimir putin for russias increasing military presence in syria. moscow insists, though, that no ground troops will be deployed. >> translator: we are talking about syria, specifically and not about the pursuit of some political goals or ambitions which we are regularly accused of by our western partners. >>> after more than four years of fighting in syria, control has changed hands many times. the political vacuum left the door open for the islamic state of iraq a

reinforcement of soldiers cannot advance farther towards kunduz. one of the main reasons, their lack of leadership. and lack of coordination among them. no one wants to take the lead and also taliban have set up a couple of ambushes along the road and yesterday, they tried to advance full time and they were facing a very strong resistance from taliban and suffered a number of casualties. they are waiting here, they cannot advance to go towards kunduz city. >> how much pressure is the afghan president under to show he and the army can take the city from the taliban? >> reporter: it is a -- when the taliban are giving a message not only to afghan government, also to international community that after 13 years, they are stronger. they have capability to take control of the capital. afghan government are putting pressure on their security forces to retake it. there are many problems that they are facing, including the lack of leadership and the lack of coordination among their forces. >> thank you. >>> there have been gun battles between u.n. the lates

some of the convoys were ambushed along the way to kunduz.here were booby traps along the entrances to the city and that made it difficult for the forces to try to enter the city. >> abdullah, as you know, kunduz was a taliban stronghold in 2001 before the u.s.-led invasion. what does it say that the taliban has been able to take the city back and does it imply that the residents of that city now support the talibantable? >> well, this is the biggest victory for taliban since being ousted from pour in 2001, but by taking control of the city for the first time, now taliban are trying to send a message to afghan government and international community that they are getting strategic advancements and it is a show of their force. >> all right, abdullah shahood live with us in the latest in kabul. thank you. >>> this morning, the obama administration's plans to defeat isil will be front and center at the united nations? >> a counter terrorism on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly, sitting down with more than 100 world leaders. it is not cle

. >>> afghan security forces are trying to recapture kunduz. the victory gave them control affa major afghan city for the first time in 14 years. government forces know their reputation is at stake as they battle to retake it. hundreds of taliban fighters flooded into kunduz early monday seizing facilities including the government headquarters and a bank. kunduz is afghanistan's gateway to central asia. president on tuesday vowed to recapture the city. afghan forces beginning counter offensive on tuesday faced land mines laid by the taliban. the u.s. military said it carried out an air strike to eliminate a threat. the sudden fall of a major city made some more fearful for the future. >> translator: we are concerned about the situation and if kunduz goes then there is a greater possibility that very soon other provinces will fall into the hands of the taliban. >> the afghan government has been trying to restore. >>> it's time for a check of the weather. people in eastern china are dealing with stormy weather conditions. mai shoji joins us. >> i

hundreds of fighters attacked and captured the city of kunduz, a provincial capital in the north. taliban militants took cell phone video of themselves, after this seizure of a major afghan city for the first time since the u.s. invasion in 2001. >> ( translated ): this is our hope. we want to build a religious school, to build a school, to build a bridge, a road, a sharia-based government. this is why we came out and this is what we fought for, so that sharia law is in force here. >> woodruff: for more on the fall of kunduz and its significance, i spoke to freelance journalist sune engel rasmussen in kabul. sune, welcome. tell us what happened. how did the taliban pull this off? >> this is an attack that started around 3:00 a.m. in the morning and the taliban attacked the city of kunduz in districts, three different directions around, surrounding the city. around mid morning, they captured the regional hospital in the city and early in the afternoon they'd taken the intelligence service headquarters, taken and released hundreds of prisoners and set fire to tun building. so it see

and have tried to take kunduz city before. afghan forces emergency today push them back.stion is whether they can do it again. stefanie dekker, al jazeera. >>> iran's president hassan rouhani says saudi arabia's handling the hajj stampede was incompetent. saudi authorities say a tote of 769 pilgrims died. critics believe the numbers may be much higher. india and pakistan is they have given diplomats around 1,100 photos of the dead for identification purposes. >> translator: i am speaking on behalf of a great nation who is mourning of loss of thousands of muslim pilgrims and hundreds of its own citizens who had come together in the grand and global spiritual gathering of the hajj, but unfortunately, fell victims to the incompetence and mismanagement of those in charge. due to their unaccountability, even the missing cannot be identified and the expeditious return of the bodies of the deceased to their mourning families has been prevented. >> scientists at nasa say they found strong evidence of flowing water on mars. it's an historic find that go raises the prospect that li

and nato continue their fight for the control of the city of kunduz. the man