Despite US officials making much of the Afghan War being “over” and the remnant 10,000 troops being there on some sort of training mission, US ground troops from Special Operations engaged in ground combat today with Taliban forces around the recently captured city of Kunduz.

Reports are still scant, but the troops were sent to the area near the Kunduz airport, which is still under Taliban assault and is being used by Afghan troops as a base to try to retake the city. They say they came under fire from the Taliban and called in airstrikes against them.

The official statement from NATO’s command in Afghanistan said that the special forces troops were “advisers” there to “advise and assist” the Afghan military, though there is no indication they were actually at the base or with any Afghan troops at the time.

The Taliban took Kunduz on Monday, after a spring offensive aimed at the Kunduz Province had sufficiently softened up the area in recent months, The Afghan military has launched a counteroffensive, but is said to be facing “heavy resistance” from the Taliban defenders, who are bolstered by hundreds of freed fighters from Kunduz Prison.