(From Reuters)
Taliban forces were battling on Thursday in the capital of Afghanistan’s central province of Uruzgan, a top poppy-cultivating area, threatening government offices as the leadership fled to the airport, officials said.
Militants had fought their way to within a few hundred meters of the governor’s compound and police headquarters in Tarin Kot, a city of about 70,000 people, but by afternoon, officials said they had beaten off the attacks.
Arriving reinforcements included General Abdul Raziq, a border police commander from the southern region of Kandahar with a fearsome reputation, said Dost Mohammed Nayab, a spokesman for the governor of Uruzgan.