Afghan authorities said on Tuesday that its forces had regained control of most of the besieged city of Kunduz.

The moves saw the reopening of some shops since the city fell to Taliban fighters a week ago.

Government forces raised the national flag over the provincial governor’s house for the first time since losing control of much of the city when Taliban fighters launched a multi-pronged assault.

Soldiers were seen conducting house-to-house searches as they continued to push Islamist insurgents out of areas that had witnessed fierce fighting.

“The centre of the city is normal,” said Abdul Ghafoor, a Kunduz resident, but added it would still take time to recover.

“The city smells so bad with dead bodies still on the pavements and in the sewage. The local government must do something,” Ghafoor added.

Battles have raged around Kunduz, a strategic city of 300,000, population as government forces backed by U.S. air strikes sought to drive out Taliban militants.

Their seizure of the city a week ago represented one of the biggest victories in the 14-year insurgency.

Meanwhile, the U.S. said it was investigating whether its military was responsible for an air strike that killed 22 people in a Kunduz hospital run by aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres on Saturday, an incident that has drawn widespread condemnation.

Head of U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John Campbell, said the military carried out an air strike after Afghan forces called for support, and said American soldiers were not under threat.