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Deadly Fighting Rages for Control of Afghan City

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - Officials in Afghanistan said Monday security
   forces were locked in fierce battles with Taliban insurgents to keep
   them from capturing the capital of the country's southern Helmand
   province.

   The U.S. military confirmed it had also conducted several targeted
   strikes in Helmand to defend Afghan security forces against the Taliban
   onslaught, urging the insurgents to immediately halt their offensives.

   Several days of fighting for control of Lashkargah is said to have left
   dozens of combatants dead on both sides with civilians also caught in
   the crossfire.

   Residents in the embattled Afghan city told VOA the Taliban had made
   territorial gains during overnight clashes in and around Lashkargah.
   The insurgents control or contest most of the districts in Helmand.

   The violence rages even as Afghan government and Taliban envoys engage
   in U.S.-brokered direct peace negotiations in Doha, Qatar, where the
   insurgents maintain their political office.

   A provincial government official told VOA that ongoing
   counteroffensives by Afghan commando forces, backed by air power, have
   halted Taliban advances, killing and injuring dozens of rebel fighters.

   But Omar Zawak would not say whether the lost ground has been retaken.
   He confirmed the death of only four Afghan personnel in late Sunday
   night clashes.

   Taliban sources claimed insurgents inflicted heavy casualties on
   government forces. It was not possible to independently verify
   battlefield claims by either side.

   Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Monday evening they have
   simply retaken areas the insurgents had lost to Afghan forces a few
   months ago.

   A health official in Helmand told VOA on condition of anonymity that
   scores of injured people, including civilians and security forces, had
   been brought to the hospital in Lashkargah from the battle zone in the
   past week.

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