Taliban still pounding Afghan city

Afghan forces on Monday continued to fight against Taliban insurgents to regain full control of the southeastern town of Ghazni in a battle that has left about 100 security officials and at least 20 civilians dead. The militants on Friday launched a large-scale attack on the town, killing dozens of security officials and seizing control of parts of the city. Afghan Defense Minister Gen. Tareq Shah Bahrami said the death toll could rise. Interior Minister Wais Ahmed Barmak added that the casualties include nearly 70 police officers.

Bahrami said authorities sent in reinforcements to prevent the Taliban from taking control of the town. The militants destroyed a communications tower, which made it difficult to confirm more details, but Bahrami said security officials killed 194 militants, including nationals from Pakistan and Chechnya and some Middle Easterners. Lt. Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said “some U.S. advisers were on the ground” as the Afghan forces carried out what he called a “cleanup operation.” Rik Peeperkorn, the country’s United Nations humanitarian coordinator, said the city’s hospitals were running out of medicine and supplies of water and food were also low. The Ghazni attack is the Taliban’s latest attempt to showcase its military strength. The militant group killed at least 100 people in three other weekend attacks across the country.