Afghan forces bomb Taliban in bid to halt advance on cities

Afghan forces fought fierce street battles and bombed Taliban positions as the group’s fighters swarmed major cities amid an intensifying nationwide offensive.

Hundreds of commandos were deployed to the western city of Herat while authorities in the southern city of Lashkar Gah called for more troops to rein in the assaults on Sunday even as Afghan air strikes left scores dead on the streets, residents said.

Fighting has surged across Afghanistan since early May when US-led foreign forces began a final withdrawal that is now almost complete.

After seizing large tracts of rural territory and capturing key border crossings, the Taliban have started assaulting provincial capitals.

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