Taliban fighters attacked Ghazni on Tuesday, clashing with Afghan soldiers and deploying explosives in an attempt to take control of the central Afghan city, according to local sources.
The Taliban’s attack on Ghazni, on the route between Kabul and Kandahar, intensifies their drive against the government and comes as international soldiers prepare to leave the war-torn country in less than three months.
Senior Afghan authorities confirmed the Taliban onslaught, but also stated that Afghan forces were attempting to reclaim lost territory.
The Taliban have had a strong presence in Ghazni for years, but provincial police sources said the insurgents’ midnight strike from multiple directions was their most intense.
Clashes erupted near security checkpoints in Ghazni’s Shaikh Ajal and Ganj neighbourhoods, causing traders to close the city’s major market.
“The situation in Ghazni is changing, most of the lost areas in the outskirts are being taken back by the Afghan forces,” said Abdul Jami, a provincial council member in Ghazni.
Aid groups and government were unable to evaluate the number of victims since roads into the area were restricted and telecommunications were disrupted.
Officials noted that as Afghan forces fight the Taliban in Ghazni and other regions of the country, young civilians are actively participating in the fight against the hardline Islamist organisation.
Afghans who want to fight the Taliban are being assimilated into the structure of territorial army forces, according to Ajmal Omar Shinwari, a spokesman for the Afghan defence and security forces.
“First they will be trained then they will be deployed to the battlefield along with other Afghan security forces,” said Shinwari in capital city Kabul.
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