Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission says the Taliban militant group has committed grave human rights violations during the recent offensive to take control of the northern city of Kunduz.

The AIHRC said in a report released on Saturday that the militant group committed targeted and arbitrary killings as well as rape.

The commission also said the Taliban used local residents and civilians as human shields during battle with the government forces.

The militants looted police stations, offices of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as those of the United Nations and other international organizations, the report said.

The Afghan human rights commission said in its report that about 100,000 Kunduz residents were forced from their homes in the wake of the Taliban offensive.

Kunduz has been the scene of fierce battle between the Taliban and Afghan forces since the militant group moved to take control of the strategic city in a blitz on September 28. Afghan forces have managed to retake the city.

Kunduz also hit by US airstrike

On October 3, a US airstrike targeted a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders, also known as the MSF, in Kunduz. Over 20 people, including patients, three children, and medical personnel, were killed in the attack.

Kunduz Province is strategic as it is located on a crossroads that connects key regions of Afghanistan. It is also located along the country’s border with Tajikistan and could offer the militants the opportunity to establish a base in the north.

The brief seizure of Kunduz was a stark warning of how far the Taliban has extended its influence into regions once thought secure, stretching government forces and piling pressure on the fragile national unity government of President Ashraf Ghani.