Resurgent Taliban threaten to overrun another Afghan city

October 13, 2015 02:23

Fighting flared in eastern Afghanistan today as Taliban insurgents threatened to storm another provincial capital, two weeks after their lightning capture of northern Kunduz city which marked their biggest military victory in 14 years.

The attempt to seize Ghazni city was repelled by Afghan forces but it raised security alarm bells as the resurgent militant group pushes to expand beyond its rural strongholds in the south of the country.

The violence, which prompted local shops and schools to close, follows the Taliban's three-day occupation of Kunduz and an attempt by the militants to capture the capital of northern Faryab province.

"This morning some 2,000 Taliban fighters launched attacks on Ghazni from several directions," deputy provincial governor Mohammad Ali Ahmadi told AFP.

"They managed to come as close as five kilometres (three miles) to Ghazni city as fierce fighting flared but were quickly pushed back by Afghan forces."

The development comes after days of sporadic clashes and officials said Afghan military reinforcements had arrived from neighbouring provinces to secure the city.

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