Taliban fighters storm Afghanistan district

Hundreds of Taliban fighters have stormed a district southwest of the Afghan capital and officials say the area is in danger of falling to the armed group after five days of fighting.



Al Jazeera's Jennifer Glasse, reporting from Kabul on Friday, said the fighting in the Ajrestan district, in Ghazni province, was ongoing. She said at least a dozen civilians and an unknown number of security personnel had been killed.

"This is part of a pattern we've seen all over the country this summer, with Taliban trying to take control of provincial centres," our correspondent reported.

Ajrestan is about 300km southwest of Kabul.

The Ghazni provincial government had lost contact with police in the district, Asadullah Safi, deputy police chief of the area, told Reuters news agency.

The asssault began about five days ago and early reports indicated that more than 100 people had been killed, including 15 who were beheaded by fighters, provincial deputy governor, Ahmadullah Ahmadi, told Reuters.

Provincial authorities have appealed to the Afghan government - where new President Ashraf Ghani is in the process of taking over from Hamid Karzai - for reinforcements but so far none have come, Ahmadi said.