The Taliban retreated from the city of Kunduz on 13 October after having taken it over on 28 September. The insurgents left with a significant number of weapons, including at least one Soviet-era T-62 main battle tank. According to an official Taliban statement, the insurgents "took into consideration the military situation and the fruitless cost of corporeal and material losses to Mujahideen in the protracted battle in defence of Kunduz city and therefore ordered its Mujahideen to withdraw from the main square markets and government buildings to the outlying rural areas of the city in order to reinforce their defence lines and reserve their strength for effective future operations".
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