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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

80 Afghan forces dead in Ghazni battle

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KABUL: At least 80 Afghan security force members have been killed during three days of intense fighting with the Taliban in the strategically important city of Ghazni, a local official said on Sunday.


Nasir Ahmad Faqiri, a provincial council member, said that according to initial reports the bodies were being transferred to the Ghazni city hospital.


Faqiri added that part of the police headquarters in the south-eastern city had caught fire as Taliban and Afghan security forces battled for control of the facility.


“The situation is very dire at the moment,” Faqiri said, adding that only police and Afghan spy agency forces were battling the Taliban with no help from the army.


He said that despite the fact that army reinforcements were on the outskirts of the city, they have made no advance to move within.


This runs counter to claims by the Afghan Defence Ministry that reinforcements had arrived and are battling Taliban militants.


General Mohammad Sharif Yaftali, the army chief of staff, said in a televised press conference that security forces still control all key government facilities within the city.


The fighting on Sunday came after claims by the Afghan government that it had made significant gains against the insurgents. The Interior Ministry had said Saturday the city would be cleared of insurgents by the end of the day. — dpa


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