Afghan official says Kunduz residents venture out as city calms, some clashes on outskirts

A man donates money at a tent of the Afghanistan 3rd Trend, a civil organization to help displaced people from Kunduz, as its staff members work in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. Mohammad Omer Safi, the sacked former governor of Kunduz, whose capital city was seized by the Taliban last week, said Monday that he repeatedly warned the government that Kunduz was vulnerable to attack and that his appeals to beef up protection fell on deaf ears, deepening concerns that the Afghan leadership failed to act until it was too late. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini) (The Associated Press)

Mohammad Omer Safi, former governor of Kunduz province, talks during an interview with The Associated Press at his office in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. Safi, the sacked former governor of Kunduz, whose capital city was seized by the Taliban last week, said Monday that he repeatedly warned the government that Kunduz was vulnerable to attack and that his appeals to beef up protection fell on deaf ears, deepening concerns that the Afghan leadership failed to act until it was too late. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini) (The Associated Press)

A woman donates money at a tent of the Afghanistan 3rd Trend, a civil organization to help displaced people from Kunduz, as its staff members work in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. Mohammad Omer Safi, the sacked former governor of Kunduz, whose capital city was seized by the Taliban last week, said Monday that he repeatedly warned the government that Kunduz was vulnerable to attack and that his appeals to beef up protection fell on deaf ears, deepening concerns that the Afghan leadership failed to act until it was too late. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini) (The Associated Press)

An Afghan official says residents of the northern Afghan city of Kunduz have started to venture out of their homes for the first time since Taliban gunmen blitzed last week and held the city for three days.

Sarwar Hussaini, spokesman for the provincial police chief, says some shops have opened on Monday and people are seen walking the streets.

He says government troops have largely cleared the militants from the city after launching a counter-offensive last Thursday.

Khush Mohammad, a member of the Kunduz provincial council, says some fighting between government forces and the Taliban continues on Kunduz's outskirts.

Kunduz is an important city on the Tajikistan border, a hub for smuggling routes for drugs and guns to and from Central Asian countries.