Afghan Taliban Set To Attack Sangin

The Taliban in Afghanistan are on the verge of overrunning the key district of Sangin in the southern province of Helmand once again.

An Afghan Army Commander, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the city had already been taken, with the government now controlling just a few square kilometres of the provincial capital.

He warned that even those few remaining areas were now under imminent threat.

Last December, there were reports that Helmand district was almost entirely in Taliban hands, but since then, the Afghan Government had sent in reinforcements.

Despite persistent Taliban assaults, government officials insisted that Sangin was secured, an assertion the Commander disagreed with.

He told the BBC that there had been repeated Taliban attacks on the remaining government positions in recent days, with several soldiers killed, weapons and ammunition seized.

The latest setbacks came despite a big increase in support from international forces, with ground troops and airpower committed to the battle in Helmand.

The Nato Combat Mission in Afghanistan officially ended just over a year ago, but in recent weeks, foreign troops had increasingly been drawn back into the conflict.

Last month, an American Marine was killed and two were injured fighting the Taliban in Helmand alongside Afghan troops.