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KUNDUZ, Afghanistan -- This city, once a crossroads in the country's northeast, is increasingly besieged. The airport closed months ago to commercial flights. The roads heading south to Kabul and east to Tajikistan as well as north and west are no longer safe for Afghans, let alone Westerners. Although the numbers of American and German troops in the north have more than doubled since last year, insecurity has spread, the Taliban are expanding their reach, and armed groups that purportedly support the government are terrorizing local people and hampering aid organizations, according to international aid workers, Afghan government officials, local residents and diplomats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the capture of the provincial capital of Kunduz, Afghanistan, by the terrorist organization the Taliban as of October 1, 2015. The author explains that while the fighting lasted only a few hours, the insurgency had been planning this campaign for at least two years, explores the role of the American-trained Afghan government, and examines the evacuation of the city prior to its capture.