KABUL - Afghan officials say the Taliban are still managing to hold out in the northern city of Kunduz as fighting there continues for the fifth day since the insurgents launched an all-out assault.

Gen. Qasim Jungalbagh, provincial police chief, said on Friday that government forces advanced overnight, pushing Taliban insurgents from residential areas in the east and west.

Jungalbagh says five members of the security forces were killed and another seven wounded. He says three civilians were also killed.

The head of the provincial council, Mohammad Yusouf Ayubi, says people are continuing to leave for neighbouring provinces.

The UN's humanitarian agency has warned of a looming humanitarian crisis as food and water run short.

The attack began Monday, a year after the insurgents overran the city.