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KABUL: Taliban militants have attacked several government checkpoints in the Ghazni city, provincial capital of the province with the same name, local officials confirmed.
A police officer in Ghazni city speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that the attacks had taken place in the Shahbaz Khan, Esfanda, Al Birnouni, Qala-e-Qazi and Jangal Bagh neighborhoods.
The officer said that sporadic battles were going on in some parts of the city.
Meanwhile, Fatemah Rahimi, a member of provincial council, said that Taliban advanced to the city’s southwest where the NATO-run Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) located.
She admitted that government checkpoints in the Qala-e-Qazi area fell to Taliban fighters who are taking control of parts of the city’s northwest. According to Ms. Rahimi, clashes are going on in the Al Birouni township.
Officials in Ghazni acknowledged that Taliban captured government checkpoints at the entrance of the city from neighboring province of Wardak direction. Images circulating on the social media show Taliban fighters and their white flag at the Ghazni city’s entrance.
In the mean time, Amanullah Kamran, deputy head of provincial council, said that Taliban militants took control of an army battalion on the road to Zabul province. He said about Taliban’s presence at the city’s outskirts.
Ghazni has been the scene of severe clashes between Taliban militants and government forces in the recent weeks. The insurgents have captured districts of Deh Yak, Jaghatoo, Qara Bagh, Aab Band, Moqor, KHwaja Omari and Waghaz, while the districts of Nawa, Ajrestan, Giroo and Rashidan were already under their control.
Ghazni city fell to Taliban in 2018 when the militants controlled the city for a few days before being driven back by the Afghan and foreign forces.
