Afghan government forces have retaken most of Ghazni from the Taliban as clashes continued for a fourth straight day after the militant group launched an assault on the eastern city, officials say.
Security forces recaptured some 90 percent of Ghazni after reinforcements were sent to the city, Defense Ministry spokesman Ghafoor Ahmad Javed told RFE/RL late on August 13.
Javed said clashes continued into the evening on August 13 in Ghazni’s Baghe Bahlool area, one of the last pockets that remain under Taliban control.
Earlier on August 13, Defense Minister Tareq Shah Bahrami said that some 1,000 additional troops had been sent to Ghazni, the capital of the province of the same name, and were trying to clear the city of Taliban militants.
"With the new measures in place, we expect that there will be a considerable development in the next 24 hours in the situation in Ghazni," Bahrami told reporters in Kabul.
"We hope there will be a good development," he added.
Afghan officials were quoted as saying that U.S. Special Forces units were on the ground helping to coordinate air strikes and ground operations but that was not confirmed by the U.S. military.
Ghazni is a strategic city located on the main road linking the capital, Kabul, with southern Afghanistan.
Three days after the militants launched their assault on the city of 270,000 people early on August 10, information was difficult to verify with telecommunications services being shut down due to the clashes.
Bahrami said the ongoing battle had killed about 100 police officers and soldiers, as well as at least 20 civilians. He also said that 194 Taliban fighters were killed.
Officials at the Interior Ministry were quoted as saying that the fighting also left at least 15 civilians dead and more than 400 others wounded.
Meanwhile, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called on the parties to "protect the lives and rights of civilians and to protect civilian infrastructure," particularly medical facilities.
"Medication at the main hospital is reportedly becoming very scarce and people are unable to safely bring casualties for treatment," Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, acting humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, said in a statement.
He also said it was "unsafe" for people to travel to larger cities where medical facilities are available.
Food supplies in the city were "reportedly running low," he added.
Shah Gul Rezayee, a lawmaker from Ghazni, told RFE/RL on August 13 that the "Taliban has torched many parts of the city."
Some Ghazni residents who fled to other cities described panic and fear in the city, Rezayee said, speaking by phone from Kabul.
"They say dead bodies are laying uncovered in the streets, people are facing a shortage of food and drinking water, and there is no electricity in the city," she added.
A communications tower was destroyed by the Taliban, cutting off cell-phone and landline access to the city.
"People can't contact their relatives and friends, and it has added to the fear and panic," Rezayee said.
The Western-backed government in Kabul has been struggling to fend off the Taliban and other militant groups since the withdrawal of most NATO troops in 2014.
In May, the Taliban attacked the western city of Farah. After a day of intense fighting, Afghan commandos and U.S. air strikes drove the group to the outskirts of the city.
With reporting by AP and Reuters
