KABUL, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan security forces have evicted Taliban militants from the northern Kunduz city on Tuesday and begun returning normalcy there after 11 days of fierce fighting and cleanup operations, provincial police chief Mohammad Qasim Jangal Bagh said.
"The cleanup operation in Kunduz city has been completed, enemies have been swept out and the mop-up is going on outside the city," Bagh told local media.
He also stressed that the militants after suffering huge casualties and leaving hundreds of bodies behind withdrew from the city.
Nonetheless, Bagh refused to give the exact number on the casualties of Taliban and security forces.
Meantime, a senior police officer Sakhi Ghafoori told Xinhua said more than 500 Taliban fighters had been killed and hundreds others injured, a claim spurned by Taliban as unfounded.
Taliban militants captured Kunduz city in a surprise attack on Sept. 29.
The government forces launched a counter-offensive on Oct. 3 with the support of U.S. military and recaptured the city on Tuesday.
Normalcy is gradually returning to city, Bagh said, adding all roads are open, traffic has been restored, and shopkeepers are going to reopen their shops.
A Kunduz resident, Ahmad Fawad, told Xinhua that many shops are opened and private cars roaming on the streets.
According to Fawad, authorities are working to restore power and water supplies to houses.
Kunduz police chief Bagh also asserted that the government forces would continue to chase militants in districts of Kunduz to ensure lasting peace in the province and adjoining areas.
Meanwhile, Taliban militants, who briefly took the provincial capital 250 km north of Kabul, also confirmed their withdrawal from the city.
"For the safety and security of the people of Kunduz, Taliban fighters have avoided fighting and withdrew the city," Taliban said in a statement.
The Taliban rejected the reports of extra-judicial killing, looting and raping committed by its fighters as baseless.
"The Taliban have achieved their goals in Kunduz city by releasing all detainees from government prison and capturing arms and ammunitions from the government forces," it said.
