US special forces battle Afghan insurgents near Kunduz

Special forces troops have clashed with insurgents in Afghanistan as the battle to retake the city of Kunduz, which fell to the Taliban in 2001, continues.

Afghan security officials stand guard at check-post as they prepare to launch a counter-offensive to regain control of the city of Kunduz. Source: AAP

Special forces from the US-led military coalition in Afghanistan fought insurgents early on Wednesday near the northern city of Kunduz, a spokesman said.

The forces were on a mission near the besieged Kunduz airport where hundreds of Afghan forces are based after retreating from the city, the first provincial capital to fall to the Taliban since 2001.

"Coalition special forces advisers, while advising and assisting elements of the Afghan Security Forces, encountered an insurgent threat in the vicinity of the Kunduz airport at approximately 1 a.m., 30 September," Colonel Brian Tribus, a spokesman for the coalition, said.

"US forces conducted an airstrike to eliminate the threat in Kunduz."

Tribus would not say what nationality the special forces were, but when asked if the statement meant they had engaged in combat, he said "Yes."

The rules of engagement for US forces remaining in Afghanistan allow them to fight if they are threatened by insurgents.

(Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Mike Collett-White)