Kunduz

Why in news?

• A suicide bomb attack on worshippers at a Shiite mosque in the Afghan city of Kunduz killed at least 55 people, in the bloodiest assault since U.S. forces left the country.

About Kunduz:

• Kunduz is a city in northern Afghanistan, the capital of Kunduz Province.
• It is in the historical Tokharistan region of Bactria, near the confluence of the Kunduz River with the Khanabad River.
• Kunduz is linked by highways with Kabul to the south, Mazar-i-Sharif to the west, and Badakhshan to the east.
  • Badakhshan is a historic region comprising parts of what is now north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and the Tashkurgan county in China.
  • The name is retained in Badakhshan Province, which is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan and is located in Northeastern Afghanistan
• Kunduz is also linked with Dushanbe in Tajikistan to the north, via the Afghan dry port of Sherkhan Bandar.
• In 2021, the Taliban gained control of the city during the 2021 Taliban offensive.

Other cities in Afghanistan:

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following pairs:

Places in news   : Country

1. Kunduz                : Afghanistan

2. Mazar-i-Sharif  : Iran

3. Sanaa                : Yemen

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1,2 and 3

Answer