KABUL: Taliban militants and Afghan security forces fought running street battles after an overnight attack by extremists on the city of Farah in western Afghanistan.
Unconfirmed reports said the Taliban had seized Farah’s central prison and freed several hundred inmates, including dozens of militants.
The attack in the early hours of Tuesday left dozens of casualties on both sides, officials said.
By midday, gunshots could be heard around Farah’s central prison, intelligence department and police headquarters, only a few kilometers from the compound of the provincial governor, near the Iran-Afghanistan border.
“I can say that it is street-to-street battle,” a city official, Mohammed Sarwar Usmani, told Arab News.
“The Taliban are roaming around and fighting in various areas of the city.”
A government spokesmen on Tuesday confirmed the Taliban had overrun several security checkposts, but denied reports of key areas of the city falling into the militants’ hands.
Gen. Mohammed Radmanish, chief spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said the situation “was under control.”
The Taliban assault was the biggest by the group since the militant regime was ousted from power in 2001. It followed months of repeated attacks that have inflicted heavy casualties on government forces on the outskirts of Farah.
The targeting of Farah, coinciding with gains by the Taliban since the launch of a spring offensive less than three weeks ago, forced Afganistan’s President, Ashraf Ghani, to call an urgent security meeting with senior defense officials on Tuesday.
Clashes between militants and security forces forced Farah residents to close shops and businesses. Schools and government offices were also closed.
Social media images showed bodies of government troops on the streets in one area, while video images released by the government showed helicopters firing on a hill outside the city.
The Taliban urged residents to stay indoors and vowed not to harm anyone.
Farah is a vast and sparsely populated province with tens of thousands of dollars generated under custom duty. The areas is reportedly under the control of the Taliban who have also been taxing people there.
Poor coordination among security forces and the Taliban’s access to more sophisticated weapons have been cited as major factors in the militants’ advance.
The Taliban have captured several district centers in recent months, but were forced to retreat after counterattacks by Afghan forces backed by US troops.
The town of Kunduz in the country’s north fell to the militants twice in 2015, forcing the US to coordinate air and ground attacks to regain control of the center.
