Ghazni Now Ghost Town After Clashes Between Taliban, Afghan Forces
Afghanistan’s defence minister said the ongoing battle has killed about 100 policemen and soldiers and 35 civilians.
Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim
Afghanistan’s Ghazni has turned into a ‘ghost town’ ever since it was put under siege by Taliban on Friday. Afghanistan's Defence Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami said the ongoing battle between Afghan forces and Taliban killed about 100 policemen and soldiers, as well as at least 35 civilians.
He says the casualty figures might change. Afghanistan’s Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak says nearly 70 policemen are among those killed.
The Taliban launched a massive attack overwhelming the city's defences and capturing parts of it. The defence minister said about 1,000 additional troops have been sent to Ghazni and helped prevent the city from falling into Taliban hands.
He also said 194 insurgents, including 12 leaders, were killed. They include Pakistani, Chechen and Arabs foreign fighters.
Earlier Colonel Fared Mashal, the province's police chief, said the majority of the insurgents fighting in Ghazni were foreigners, including Pakistanis and Chechens.
The assault on Ghazni, the capital of Ghazni province, was a major show of force by the Taliban. They infiltrated deep into this strategic city barely 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the capital, Kabul.
The United States has sent military advisers to aid Afghan forces.
The fall of Ghazni, a city of 2,70,000 people, would mark a major victory for the Taliban. It would also cut off a major highway linking Kabul to the southern provinces, the Taliban's traditional heartland.
Over the past few months, the insurgents have seized several districts across Afghanistan, staging near-daily attacks on Afghan security forces, but have been unable to capture and hold urban areas.
The United Nations has expressed its concerns for the civilians caught up in the fighting in Ghazni.
(With inputs from AP)
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