
© EPA-EFEAfghan security stands guard at check point in Herat, Afghanistan.
Afghan government forces struggled against Taliban assaults on several major cities Sunday as the
insurgents stepped up a nationwide offensive that saw a key airport in the south come under rocket fire overnight. 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.
Fighting has surged across the country since early May when US-led foreign forces began a final withdrawal from
Afghanistan that is now almost complete.
After seizing large tracts of rural territory and capturing key border crossings, the Taliban have started assaulting provincial capitals with grueling onslaughts.
Flights out of Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city and the former stronghold for the insurgents, were halted after rockets struck the airport before dawn. Airport chief Massoud Pashtun said
two rockets had hit the runway and repairs were under way with planes likely to resume service later on Sunday. The facility is vital to maintaining the logistics and air support needed to keep the Taliban from overrunning the city, while also providing aerial cover for large tracts of southern Afghanistan.
The attack came as the Taliban inched closer to overwhelming at least two other provincial capitals, including nearby Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.
Comment: Prelude to a color revolution...with tyranny and injustice for all?