Taliban attacks Tirin Kot

Hundreds of Taliban militants stormed a provincial capital in southern Afghanistan on Thursday and were fighting on multiple fronts with government forces, city officials said.

The attacks, in one of the country’s top opium-producing areas, exposed how thinly stretched Afghan security forces have become as they try to contain Islamist insurgents in other areas of the country.

The provincial spokesman, Doost Mohammad Nayab, says Taliban fighters are besieging the police headquarters and appealed on the government in Kabul for prompt reinforcements.

The insurgents would not be able to break through security cordons, said Dost Mohammed Nayab, the spokesman of the provincial governor.

The news comes as Taliban are threatening to capture Lashkar Gah in neighbouring Helmand province, and northern Kunduz city, which the militants briefly seized past year in a stinging blow to Afghan forces. He said the situation improved after the air attacks. “This morning the circle of fighting was a kilometer or so from the main bazaar”.

Residents said senior officials were abandoning government buildings and fleeing to the airport on the outer edges of the city. “There are no vehicles on the streets, the city is just shut down”.

Leaders in Uruzgan had retreated to the airport, which houses an Afghan military base, according to a police official.

However, within hours, the AfghanMinistry of Defense said the Talibanhad been repelled from Tirin Kot.

Late on Wednesday, the Taliban released a statement promising government forces protection if they surrendered peacefully.

Kareem Atal, Helmand’s council head, earlier said that roughly 80 percent of the province is already under Taliban control.

“Mujahidin enter Uruzgan capital Tarin Kowt city”, Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman, said in a statement.

Afghan forces, assisted by American advisers from Resolute Support, have mostly focused this year on defending urban centers in Helmand and several northern provinces, including Kunduz, where the Taliban has launched frequent assaults and made significant territorial gains.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation officials dismissed questions about the siege, insisting they have no ground troops in Uruzgan, nor have they launched any airstrikes in the area in recent days.

The Taliban are also believed to have captured much of Uruzgan province.

The province is in a part of south-central Afghanistan long dominated by the Taliban and warlords who vie for access to its lucrative smuggling routes and illicit drug production.