Arafat Hasan: US forces have launched airstrikes in Afghanistan yesterday in what they claim is a counter-offensive to a major Taliban assault on an Afghan provincial capital. Terrified residents cowered in their homes amid explosions and gunfire as security forces tried to beat the insurgents back.
According to officials, Afghan Special Forces were also being deployed to the southeastern city of Ghazni after the latest attempt by the Taliban to capture an urban centre, as pressure builds to enter peace talks. At least one Afghan soldier has been killed and seven others wounded in the fighting, said provincial governor spokesman Arif Noori, adding that civilian houses and army checkpoints have come under mortar attack and the bodies of dozens of Taliban fighters are in the streets. -Source: AFP