Taliban Storm Afghan District Near Afghan Capital, 100 Killed

Local Editor

Hundreds of Taliban militants have stormed a district in an important Afghan province not far from the capital, killing dozens of people in five days, and officials said on Friday that there were fears the area would fall to the insurgents.

The Ghazni provincial government has lost contact with police in Ghazni's western Ajrestan district, said Asadullah Safi, deputy police chief of the area. Ghazni is strategically located southwest of Kabul.

Safi said that a suicide car bomber attacked a police checkpoint early in the day before provincial authorities completely lost contact with the district.

The attacks began about five days ago and early reports were that more than 100 people had been killed, including 15 who were beheaded by militants, provincial Deputy Governor Ahmadullah Ahmadi said on Friday.

Provincial authorities have appealed to the Afghan government - where new President Ashraf Ghani is in the process of taking over from Hamid Karzai - for reinforcements but so far none has come, Ahmadi said.

Over the past months, militants have stepped up their attacks against Afghan government troops, foreign forces and civilians.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team