Farah (Agencies): Afghan Taliban launched an offensive Friday against a key city of the country, officials said.
Dozens of Taliban fighters assaulted Farah city, the capital of Farah province, early in the day and seized an Afghan army recruitment centre, Farooq Barakzai, the spokesman for Farah’s provincial governor said.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi meanwhile said a "massive operation" was under way in the province.
The remote poppy-growing region that borders Iran has been the scene of intense fighting in recent years, and there have long been fears that its capital is vulnerable.
Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said the Taliban had suffered "heavy blows" and would be "eliminated very soon".
In May last year, the Taliban made a major attempt to capture Farah city but were eventually driven back by Afghan and US forces.
