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Afghan Taliban 'push further' into key town of Sangin | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Afghan government forces have lost control of the centre of the town of Sangin in Helmand province after days of fierce fighting, reports suggest. | |
Eyewitnesses told the BBC the Taliban controlled the local government building and police station. | |
The Taliban say their fighters have seized the entire district. | The Taliban say their fighters have seized the entire district. |
However, the Afghan defence ministry said that fighting was continuing and that reinforcements had been sent to the area. | |
Eyewitnesses say some government forces are still fighting in the district centre but are cut off from reinforcements. | |
District governor Haji Suliman Shah told the BBC he had been airlifted from the district headquarters to Shorabak base in Lashkar Gah early on Wednesday, along with 15 wounded security force members. | |
Meanwhile Ashuqullah, a police officer with an Afghan army brigade about 7km (four miles) from Sangin, told the BBC the "entire" town was controlled by militants. | |
"Support troops have been airdropped at a distance... but all roads are blocked and in the militants' control," he added. | |
Sangin was a major focus of Nato's involvement in Afghanistan. | |
Helmand province has been a major centre of the Taliban insurgency with important supply routes for the opium trade. | Helmand province has been a major centre of the Taliban insurgency with important supply routes for the opium trade. |
Its proximity to Pakistan also serves to give the area a broader strategic significance. | Its proximity to Pakistan also serves to give the area a broader strategic significance. |