>> >>> taliban threat. >> i'm not sure it reflects any new assessment of the taliban at this point. but it does highlight the ongoing challenge that the afghan security forces are taking on every single day >>> u.s. airpower called into action after the taliban routes afghan force and takes over one of afghanistan's largest cities. >>> terror summit. >> like terrorists throughout the history i.s.i.l. will lose, because it has nothing to offer but suffering and death. >> president obama gathers more than 100 nations to discuss defeating i.s.i.l. a congressional report slams the u.s. for failing to stop americans joining i.s.i.l. >>> vladimir putin's true intentions. >> those intentions are not secret. it is spelled out in russian doctrine. >> georgia's president joins us to talk about russia's aggression and what the international community should do about it. >> ocean sanctuary. >> millions of dolphins, whales, turtles and fish and marine life will be safe. >>> new zealand applauded for creating a huge marine reserve >>> good evening, i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america. we

taliban fighters are now in control of large parts of kunduz city.e 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 operation to recapture kunduz. >> translator: in the first place we should take care of the civilian casualties we have already paid attention and will continue. the enemy has had heavy damages. i don't want to go in to the did he taste 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. it's proving difficult for some reinforcements to reach kunduz because the taliban has set up booby troops along the way. on monday they broke open the prison releasing hundreds of inmates most former taliban fighters. taliban commander issued a statement telling residents not to worry and to go about their daily lives but that will be hard with the fighting going on. it coincides with ghani's first anniversary as president and the first year afghan forc

and now why taliban attacked in this city in a big number, why kunduz fall in to the hands of the talibaneaking to former member of parliament, telling us that it is all because of the ill treatment of the irresponsible armed groups in kunduz province, that has created this and that's why people supporting taliban. and also corruption is another cause of taliban gaining more support. politician and kunduz also blaming the afghan government for lack of coordination a mung wrong the afghan security forces. we also understand that at the time of the attack, there were 2,000 afghan police, 1,000 afghan local police. around 3,000 afghan national army. and in total up to 7,000 forces were present in kunduz province, but the question is why the city has fallen in to the hands of taliban. >> all right, thanks for that. >>> leaders of the u.s. and russia have tell face-to-face talks on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly in new york over how they are to resolve the conflict in syria. barack obama and vladimir putin can't see eye to eye on the future role of bazar al-assad. our diplomatic ed

in those areas that are within the ambit of the taliban to help them resist the taliban.so i think we should be doing counterinsurgency and insurgency in different parts obviously country. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> you didn't mention the haqqani network, so i'm wondering how significant they were when you were there ask today. >> well, the old -- [inaudible] who have taken over the franchise, but he was still very much active back in that period, 1999-2000, leading up to 2001. and at the time of 9/11, he was the minister for tribal affairs for the taliban government. and tremendously influential figure on both sides of the pakistan/afghanistan border. and the pakistanis were absolutely afraid of him as they are afraid of his sons now, because they have tremendous influence. and they control an area that's very difficult for outsiders to fight to include, for instance, the pakistani be army. right now they, the haqqani clan, the haqqani network, are working along with the afghan taliban, you know, the organization that is still loyal, we think, to mullah omar. they ha

in those areas to help them resist the taliban.i think we should get counterinsurgency and insurgency in different parts of the country. >> thank you. >> in your talk you didn't mention the haqqani network so i'm wondering how significant they were when you were there and today? >> the sons have taken over the franchise since then but joe lolled was active in that period in 1,990,002 -- and at the time of 9/11 he was minister of tribal affairs in the taliban government and tremendously influential figure on both sides of the pakistan afghanistan border and the pakistanis were afraid of him as they were afraid of his sons now because they have tremendous influence. and they control an area that's resistant to fighters including the pakistani army. right now the economy network are working along with the afghan taliban, the organization that we think to mullah omar. they have not aligned themselves with the pakistani taliban and part of the reason much to our ignorance of pakistanis have been speaking to incorporating with the haqqan

they have fighting with taliban. we are going to slowly see that the taliban location is a civilian home in a civilian place. >> to let you know, it's two days that afghani forces, equipped with army vehicles, heavy machine guns are stuck in the same location because they are telling us that their i.e.d.s and ambush on the way to kunduz. they are the forces that afghan government are relying on to retake kunduz city. >> one last question before i let you go. we heard that n.a.t.o. special forwardses managed to reach kunduz, if there no operations going on, as you have heard. what are the special forces doing there? >> we heard that this morning they have - they had some movement, but they couldn't manage though go further advance into kunduz city. that's why there's no operation. that's how we are getting from afghan officials. the afghan officials, there could be a heavy casualty. that's why they are thinking and thinking and going slowly to launch their operation, that's what they are telling us. >> thank you so mu

taliban fighters are not in control. here, they are symbolically raising their flag in the city square. the afghan government has announced a major operation to recapture kunduz. >> translator: in the first place, we should take care of the civilian casualties. they have conceded heavy damages, including the air strikes and operations. 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 tuesday morning. it is proving difficult because the taliban has set up booby traps along the way. talbn gun -- taliban released inmates and they have issued a statement, telling residents not to worry. that will be difficult with a major military operation underway. it's one of the most significant territorial gains. it coincides with the present and they are facing the taliban alone, after they pulled out last year. a counterterrorism operation remains. this recent move is the boldest by the taliban to take more control of the country. a

now, the city fell to the taliban's hand on monday morning.erran government buildings, they tried to free inmates and prisoners from the prprovincial jail in kunduz province. however, police spokespersons, spokesman in kunduz says that the afghan forces have launched their operation to take the control of the city. now, afghan security forces retreated from monday's attack and they outlaid in an area near the airport in kunduz, most of the entrance roads to the city were blocked by taliban. now this morning we have witnessed some clashing with the afghan forces, afghan government, interior ministry saying that they have made a few achievements and have captured some territory from the taliban in the city. >> we think of this as a very simple battle between on the one side the taliban and the other side the government forces. but there are a lot of powerful figures in kunduz, where do loyalties lie and how much support does the taliban have? >> reporter: well, i was speaking to a member of -- a former member of parliament, basically most of the

it seems the taliban is gaining ground here. >> reporter: they say told taliban used the mosque loud speaker and announced to normal identity people in kunduz city telling them that -- to continue with their normal lives, and they could open their shops because they are promising people that they're not going to quick. afghan security forces were promising since early this morning that they will retake kunduz city today. we're seeing that they are facing difficulties as strong resistance from taliban not only into the city, even along the road. 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.

"new day" starts now. >> after attack to retake the city of kunduz from the taliban. >> 500 taliban prisoners the city's prison. >> the biggest town they have been able to take since 2001. >>> the first face-to-face meeting in two years. >> i'm amazed they did the handshake at all. >> united states is prepared to work with any nation, including russia and iran, to resolve the conflict. >>> let syria and isis fight. why do we care? let russia take care of isis. assad to me looks better. >> announcer: this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota and michaela pereira. >> welcome to "new day." it is september 29th. chris is an assignment. john berman joins us. we begin with breaking news. united states launching an air strike overnight against taliban targets in northern afghanistan, one day after taliban fighters captured a major city. this is the first time since taliban gained ground since 2001. >> trying to retake the northern city of kunduz. taliban has been damage. freeing hundreds of prisoners in the pre-dawn attack. let's start with pentagon correspondent barbara starr. >> repor

part of the city seized by the taliban fighters. pressure is mounting on the president over the handling of the attack. lawmakers called on ashraf ghani to resign. the parliamentarians criticized the response to the attack as shameful. >> we don't want to hear lies. the the government says they are sending troops, it's almost 72 hours of people in the city suffering from food, water and electricity. children and women are dying because of hunger. >> monday's attack on sunday us was the biggest -- kunduz was the biggest victory in war. >> reporter: there's no government troops left here, taliban fighters are in control of kunduz city. here they are symbolically raising their flag in the city square. >> the battle is not over. the afghan government has announced a major military operation to recapture kunduz. >> in the first place we should take care of the civilian casualties. the enemy conceded heavy damages. including air strikes and operation. i don't want to go into the detail of the operations. >> special forces have been brough

it seems, though, it's the taliban that is gaining ground here.afghan forces have the wherewithal, the strength to take on the taliban? >> reporter: we talked to people in the city. they are telling us today, taliban used a loud speaker and announced their identity, people in the city, telling them that continue with your -- with their normal life and they could open their shops and -- because they are promising people that they are not going that quick. but afghan security forces were promising since early this morning that they will retake the city today. but we are seeing that they are facing difficulties, a strong resistance from taliban, not only in kanduz city, even along the road. before they get close to the city, they are facing resistance from the taliban from other province. >> all right. let's bring in rosiland jordan in washington, d.c. ros, what if anything is the u.s. doing to help the afghans right now retake kundus. >> reporter: well, the u.s. military has launched an air strike to try to eliminate a threat to the force. that's a

the taliban want to bring the taliban location into the civilian people and also they're in civilian homes and they are fighting against the -- they're fighting from the homes in the villages and sfr the shop keepers and the shops in the city. that's why we don't want to fight against them because there's civilian people, and we want to go so slowly. >> we're with afghan fighters on the ground. >> reporter: now it seems like the taliban is trying to spread the war all along the north of the country. the soldiers await, and they're panicking in the past few minutes. they have received reports there's a big attack on them. so they don't think it's safe for them. 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

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

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

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 pretty resilient. when they do seize territory, they very quickly regroup and retake it. with american air support that may happen soon. the shock to the afghan government has already been immense. john simpson, bbc n

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

airstrikes are killing taliban, they say over 100 taliban killed so far.they killed the taliban commander. the taliban, themself, are saying, no, he's not dead. he will be making an audio message very soon. it is very difficult to get to the lard facts on the ground t. u.n. is saying 6,000 people forced to flee their homes. roads leading to and from the city are cut. more than 100 people or civilians have been killed and injured and there have been summary executions of medical workers him people have been abducted t. people there right now is the taliban still are struggling to get reenforcements, to retake it. over time, they should be able to. it's clearly not happening quickly. >> all right, nic robertson, thank you so much for that this morning. breaking news this morning, three last ditch supreme court appeals and the pope can't save a georgia woman from being executed. that's next. a . >>> breaking news this morning, georgia executes its first woman in 70 years, a punishment even the pope couldn't stop. the kentucky clerk says she met the pope. >> b

for the government and raises further doubt about its ability to tackle the taliban. stephanie dekker reports. >> there are no government troops left here. taliban fighters are now in control of large parts of kunduz city. this battle is not over. the government has announced an operation to recapture dundu did. >> in the first place we should take care of the civilian casualties. we will pay attention and we will continue. the enemy has conceded heavy damage. 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. it has been proven difficult to reach kunduz because the taliban has set up boobie traps along the way. on monday gunmen broke open kunduz prison releasing inmates, many of them taliban fighters. taliban fighters are telling residents not to worry and to go on with their daily lives. but that will be difficult with a major military operation under way. ashraf gandhi's time as president, and after the u.s. nato troops pulled out last year. the counter terrori

taliban gunmen broke open the prison release are inmates most taliban fighters. time ban issued statements to the residents to not wore and go about their daily lives. it's one of the most significant territorial gains taliban fighters have made since 2001, when their government was deposed by the u.s.-led invasi invasion. it coincides with ghani's first anniversary as president. it's the first year afghan forces are facing the taliban alone after u.s. and nato troops pulled out last year. a counter terrorism operation remains this recent move is the boldest in a long campaign by the taliban to take control of the country. a strong message to whoever is watching 14 years after being deposed the taliban can still take control of a major city in less than 24 hours. stefanie dekker, al jazeera. >> and & we'll get an update on the situation in kunduz when we speak to our correspondent who is on the front line with the afghan army later in the program. >>> in other world news being at least 37 people have been killed in gun battled between u.n. peacekeepers and armed

genie: next to afghanistan, where two days ago the taliban and seized the city -- the taliban seized the city of kunduz. fighting raged through the night . special forces have not reached kunduz to back troops on the ground. u.s. air forces have carried out three airstrikes since yesterday. let's bring in catherine james. what has been happening there today? catherine: we have had a bit of a setback today for the afghan government. "the wall street journal" reported in the last hour that one of the last two strongholds that the government held has been taken by the taliban, and up to as many as 60 soldiers have surrendered to the taliban. this is a disappointing development for the afghan government and army, and reports of major forces supporting the afghan army -- needs to be understood that they are not sending troops to fight. they are only at this point in an advisory role. genie: tell us a bit more about reaction from kabul now. some lawmakers are calling for the president to resign. catherine: that is right. this is quite understandable. it has come after a year of difficulty

the taliban division didn't stop the violence. hundreds were injured in a single day, and the attacks around the country company. poor security has weakened the country's already fragile economy. and they are losing confidence in the government. >> no work, no business, i wanted my children to work. and now they have to support the family. >> the taliban, and the rest of the country, the challenges -- >> the head of planned parenthood was on capitol hill today, defending the organization from house republicans, trying to cut off it's federal funding. the group came under fire after ant abortion activists released a video. the federal dollars do not go to embarrass abortion, and the d them on the political advocacy. >> the tell me about the it up hundred thousand dollars that you gave to the strategy efforts. >> states in the last several years passed ballot initiatives that restrict women's access to reproductive healthcare. but you have been involved in ballot measures that have been introduced -- >> if you want to be a private e

air strike hits a taliban target outside kunduz as afghanistan sends in special forces to take back theity. ♪ hello from al jazeera's headquarters in doha, i'm jane dutton and barack obama and vladimir putin meet to discuss the war in syria but deep differences remain. typhoon lands in eastern china. and rotten roots and look at brazil's growing corruption problem. ♪ u.s. military planes have hit taliban fighters on the outskirts of afghanistan's northern city of kunduz, and a nato spokesperson said the strike was to eliminate a threat to coalition troops and afghan forces. taliban fighters seized the city after an early morning raid on monday, afghan special forces are still advancing towards the city despite having been ambushed by the taliban, local hospitals have received 16 dead bodies and treated 172 injured and afghan soldiers are set to have retaken the city's main jail and the police headquarters. let's get an update from the story from bagland in afghanistan south of the city of kunduz and what is happening in the city of kunduz right now? >> the latest update we are getting i

most of them former taliban fighters. taliban commanders convinced the president not to worry and go about their daily lives. it will be difficult with a major operation under way. it's a significant territorial gain that fighters made since 2001, when the government was deposed by the u.n. led invasion. it coincides with ashraf ghani's first anniversary as president. and the first year afghan forces are facing the taliban alone. after u.s. and n.a.t.o. troops pulled out last year. >> a counterterrorism operation remains, but the recent news is the boldest in a long campaign by the taliban to take more control of the country, a strong message to whoever is watching that 14 years after being deposed and battling forces, the taliban can take control of a major city in less than 24 hours. >> why is kunduz a strategically important city? it's one of the largest cities. ? northern afghanistan. it's estimated around 300,000 live there. it's a strategically important transport hub. it's linked by highways to the south. and with

the taliban later announced the new leader is mullah monsoon. but senior taliban members close to omar demanded that the selection of a new leader be carried out again sparking a fierce internal feud. experts say the taliban fighters joining the islamic state group don't have faith in the new leadership. >> translator: some taliban combatants joining the islamic state group switched sides after omar's death. if more of them follow suit, it will create a dangerous situation. >> reporter: this man is one of those displaced by islamic state violence. militants killed his younger brother. he fled with his brother's five children and 11 other members of his family to the home of a relative in jalalabad. >> translator: islamic state members said they wanted to talk with my brother, but they killed him instead. they killed or abducted many residents. >> translator: samiullah is most concerned about his relatives back in his home community. >> hello? >> translator: all i have are the clothes i'm wearing. i don't know what to do. >> reporter: turmoil is

>> which the district is under the control of taliban for the past four months.ent 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 but mainly most of the taliban in kunduz who have attacked mainly they are local people who are leaving and activist streak and charter of the streak which most of the area of charter was in the past three months under the control. the main reason of controlling of taliban, the kunduz province because of that existence of that and responsible people who were in kunduz and fighting sometimes with each other and those who belong in the former majority and groups. most of the time they fight against each other. this was the most region which taliban attacked and the other reason is the corruption in the local government of kunduz which people of kunduz are not happy with the local government in various departments so t

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 entire isil leadership, we would still have some of these forces at work. but ultimately i am optimistic. in iraq, and in syria, isil is surrounded by communities countries and a brad international

is the taliban winning in afghanistan? >> they are certainly having much more success in the north than we would expect. the taliban are drawn primarily from the pas pashhtoon group. the taliban usually doesn't do well in the north and yet we have seen them be able to push and that's odisturbing trend. >> the taliban admitting they withheld news of the debt of their leader mullah omar, because they were expecting coalition forces to leave in 2013, and is that an indication giving any kind of date certain for american withdrawal, because american troops did end up staying there, is it a mistake to give those dates certain because the taliban is paying attention. >> well, i think all kinds of people are paying attention. the taliban is paying attention but it also gives a drop-dead date for the afghan government to get its act together and understand that that is the date that it is taking control. so i think giving these hard dates is two faced. it certainly does give knowledge to your enemy that they can plan around. but o

were behind bars, including taliban fighters. the attack is one of a string of events that left the group in control of most of kundus city. the people of congress is under fear, they are in fear of the house, no one is in the city. they are worrying about the attacks. >> reporter: the afghan interior ministry sent special enforcements, and air support. the taliban made major games in -- gains in kund us 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, in 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 capital kabul. th

is sending 370 peace keeping troops to somalia and south sudan, 8 dead, more than 50 wounded in a talibanack on kunduz in northern 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 t

reporter: the taliban have freed hundreds of prisoners from the local jail. the city is symbolically significant to the taliban as it was their northern stronghold before their government was overthrown in 2001. this is the second time this year taliban fighters have tried to take this city. they mounted a fierce offensive in april but were ultimately repeled by government forces and pro government myly that. it seems the government may not have learned from the previous attack the fall of the city would be a heavy blow to the president. he promised to bring peace to the country when he was elected last year. anchor: violent anti-government protests in the central african republiclings and u.s. peacekeepers have been firing warning shots. 20 people have died following the murder of a muslim taxi driver over the weekend. the country does remain unstable following a coup three years ago. spain's prime minister says he is willing to talk to the regional government in cat lonia, but the idea of independence for the region remains out of the question. he was speak

taliban gunmen broke open the prison. releasing inmates.aliban commanders issued a statement, telling residents not to worry, and to go about their daily lives, it will be difficult with a major operation under way. >> it's one of the most significant territorial gains taliban fighters have made since 2001, when the government was deposed. it coincides with ashraf ghani's first president and the first year that afghan forces face the taliban alone. at counter-terrorism organization remained. a strong message to whoever is watching that 14 years after being deposed and battling coalition and afghan forces. the taliban can take control of a major city >>> meanwhile, the u.s. says it is confident that afghan forces can take on the taliban. rosalind jordan has more. >> reporter: there were many questions raised at tuesday's pentagon briefing about whether the afghan military is up to the task of defending the groups. this is a response from the spokesperson. >> we have seen the afghan security forces face challenging times. and also rise to tha

. ♪ welcome to the news hour, i'm sammy in doha and taliban fighters raise the flag in the center and government sent in special forces to retake the city. u.n. condemned air strikes that reportedly killed up to 135 people at a wedding in yemen. typhoon makes landfall in eastern china, causing chaos in taiwan and life on mars could be a real possibility and scientists reveal flowing water on the red planet. ♪ first to afghanistan where government forces heading toward the northern city of kunduz have turned back after they were ambushed by taliban fighters and kunduz was seized by the taliban on the early morning raid on monday and hundreds freed in a jail break may now join the fight we are told and we will be live in afghanistan but now we report. >> reporter: there are no government troops left here, taliban fighters now 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 has a major military operation to recapture kunduz and special forces have been brought in and the u.s. military talk

the taliban control large parts of the city. they cut off roads leading into kunduz which makes it difficult for government forces to send reinforcements. they planted roadside bombs on the roads leading into the city. all this makes it more difficult, combined with the fact that the taliban had sought shelter in the residential areas , making it more difficult for the government to make use of heavy artillery. the u.s. military has conducted a single airstrike in kunduz and there are civilians that might be caught in the crossfire. all in all it's going to be more difficult than most people anticipated. that's not necessarily a sign of strength that the taliban but also the partial disintegration of the afghan security forces and the lack of coordination between the army and the police. sarah: the ukrainian president said his country remains the victim of russian aggression he was speaking at the u.n. general assembly in new york, where he added that russia continue to provide support to rebel groups controlling parts of his co

taliban fighters are a formidable force on the ground. pushing them back the question is whether they can do it again. stefanie dekker, al jazeera. >>> a closer look at the national unity government and if it can force a taliban challenge following the withdrawal of government forces. >>> shia denied responsibility for a deadly strike on a wedding party, the celebration was for a local man affiliated with the dominant houthi group which the coalition has been targeting for six months after the houthis ousted the country's president last year. >>> separatist leaders in catalonia say they will move ahead with plans to secede from spain. even though they secured less than 48% of the vote on sunday. madrid said secession would be illegal. separatists were encouraged by scotland's bid for independence last spring. >>> demonstrations in hong kong demandings election reform captured the world's attention. but as rob mcbride reports nothing much has changed. >> reporter: thousands forced their way through police cordons to start the occupy moveme

the city fell to the taliban on monday. u.s.resident barack obama has announced three new countries have joined the coalition against isil, as he host as conference on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly. and ukraine's president has addressed the u.n. general assembly, to accuse russia of what he called open and unprovoked aggression in eastern ukraine. staying in ukraine, a trial is underway of two russian men described by the ukrainians as rug special forces. they were captured in may during fighting in eastern ukraine. ner accused of killing troops. moscow insists the men were not serving soldiers when they were detained. and on the other side, captures ukrainian pilot has been testifying in her defense in a russian court. face as maximum sentence of 25 years if found guilty of involvement in the killing of two russian journalists last year. she denies the allegations. germany is imposing tougher conditions for migrants from countries of the balkins as it struggles to cope with a record surge in the numbers of refugees

local time and taliban closed off four ways into the city effectively cutting it off.ials also telling us that the reenforcement troops have been sent to the area along with air support and air space strikes are not carried out because of the high number of civilians that live in the city. >> this is the second time we have seen an attack on kunduz. why kunduz and why now? >> well, 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

the taliban easily seized government buildings and freed 500 prisoners, including the taliban from the city jail. there was so little resistance, taliban fighters had time to take selfies with local residents. at the pentagon, officials acknowledged this was a stunning defeat. >> obviously this is a setback for the afghan security forces. >> reporter: the attack raises serious doubts about the ability of afghan forces and president obama's plan to withdraw all american troops from afghanistan. 9800 american forces are still in afghanistan today. half of them, scheduled to leave by the end of this year and all would be withdrawn by the end of 2016. >> but the afghan forces are facing a fairly strong foe that we couldn't even defeat ourselves so the notion we should leave them to prove their own manhood with no american help i've never found very compelling. >> late tonight officials here tell us there has now been a second u.s. air strike near the airport there in afghanistan. but well before this latest taliban attack, u.s. military officials had feared that the afghan military would n

it was hoped for a weakening of the taliban. after a group announced a high-ranking leader was dead. the passing kept under wraps for two years. any hopes that a leadership vacuum would lead to debilitating infighting have so far been dashed. >> and the u.s. is calling on pakistan to help reduce taliban influence in afghanistan. the national security advisor susan rice met officials over the weekend asking them to take advantage of the death. >> satellite images confirm i.s.i.l. destroyed another 2,000-year-old temple in syria. the building of the bell temple is gone. u.n. analysts say that, and the temple dating back to 32a d, an important religious building in the first century. i.s.i.l. seized palmyra in may. a french spy agency said i.s.i.l. blew up the temple on the same compound. one soldiers is dead. others injured as protests turned violence. >> protesters opened fire and threw grenades, following a vote to grant autonomy. >> the moment when anger turned to bloodshed. these pictures filmed from inside ukraine's parliamen

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. reporting over the course of today and into tonight seems to indicate that afghan counter offensive to take backing that city is not necessarily coming together, at least not yet. there are now reports at least two u.s. air strikes, american air strikes have been launched in support of whatever that counter offensive effort is. but however much our politics in this country have moved on from ever talking about afghanistan, the afghan

launching a new attack on an afghanistan city taken by the taliban. we are live. >>> welcome back to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> i'm alison kosik. it is 30 minutes past the hour. the white house claims it has new clarity of russian objectives after the first face-to-face sit down with president obama and vladimir putin in two years. the clarity and some military coordination in syria seems to be all the u.s. has achieved at this point. the two leaders toasting at lunch, but look at them. an icy glare there. then shaking hands stiffly before meeting for 90 minutes in the united nations conference room. obama and putin facing off in speeches outlining differences for how to fight terror. putin saying it is a mistake for refusing to cooperate with the assad regime. this morning, president obama hosts a summit with countries fighting isis except for putin who is not expected to attend. for more, let's bring in cnn's matthew chance. how much of an issue is it that putin will not be attending this meeting today? >> reporter: i don't think it is

around 600 prisoners were behind bars, including taliban fighters.l attack is just one of the string of events that has left the group in control of most of the city. >> the people of one deuce is you were the fear, they are inside the houses. nobody dares enter the streets or the city they are worrying about the attacks. >> reporter: the afghan interior ministry has spent forces. the taliban has made major gains in kunduz since fighters surrounded the city early monday morning. the government leaders say the city will be retaken. there have been casualty on his both sides. bodies of taliban fighters and a policeman killed in the fighting salt civilians are also caught up in the battle for the city. it's the first time the taliban has taken such of kunduz since the u.s. invasion in two number one. it have the former northern strong hold before their government was overthrown 14 years ago. taliban fighters still hold some parts of province which lies in the north of the country with main roads connecting to the rest of afghanistan and the capital kabu

what we've seen in the past, when taliban have taken control back in the old days of the taliban, when they used to do this, the reason they could take control of the town so quickly would have been because they had sympathizers in the town. people that are dissatisfied with the government. that is going to be a big battle for the government. they should be able to do it militarily, take control again but are they going to win over the people there that they already appear to have lost to the taliban? >> we'll discuss this more ahead. back here in the united states, another important day for president obama at the united nations. after his closely watched meeting with russian president vladimir putin. both leaders clashing publicly on their competing visions to end syria's civil war. sitting down for the first time since russia's incursion into ukraine. michelle kosinski live at the u.n. with the latest. >> reporter: this happened after about two years of not having a real sitdown conversation, everything that's transpired since then, the fact that there are yewenormous differences. th

people have seen taliban flags raised in the city and some police stations are surrounded by talibanand the situation seems tour very tense right now. >> no doubt. we'll come back to you later to talk about how things develop from there. >>> talks about how to deal with syria's four-year conflict. world leaders are gathering in northern. dispipe much -- gathering in new york. despite the talks there are no agreement on what to do with bashar al-assad. >> reporter: france has been involved in strikes on isil targets in iraq for over a year. but now for the first time the french president has ordered his air force in to action over syria in what he told reporters has an act of self-defense. >> translator: france struck this morning in syria against a training camp of the islamic state of iraq and the levant which was threatening the security of our country. this operation was to protect our territory. to prevent further terror attacks, to act in self-defense, our forces reached their objectives. the camp was totally destroyed some. other strikes could take place in the coming weeks if

killed a number of taliban.ation on the ground? >> part of the reason there's not enough troops is that a lot of them ran away when the taliban advanced on the monday. that's one thing the police chief is not mentioning. and the reports coming out about the taliban commander who has been killed, he was the shadow governor of kunduz n those reports are being repeated all over. the police are saying it. but the u.s. military who allegedly conducted the air strike are not commenting on the claims. the police also claims they have taken back police head quarters in kunduz. from what i here from locals, that claim seems dub yis. so it's unsuclear what's going . could this have an impact on timing of u.s. plans to withdraw american troops from afghanistan? >> reporter: apparently the taliban didn't -- that's what a lot of security officials say here off the report, they didn't necessarily attack kunduz with a lot of people, but they went during a holiday. they didn't have to overwhelm the security forces, but infiltra