Afghan special forces battling Taliban uprising amid fears of mass civilian casualties

Afghan special forces were last night battling a ferocious Taliban uprising in the country amid fears of mass civilian casualties.

Insurgents stormed a second province amid the ongoing US-led troop withdrawal and took government buildings in Kunduz city.

Western-trained security forces were clinging to control of the airport and their own base, officials confirmed.

Many western embassies in the capital Kabul are evacuating staff and preparing defences.

And all non-government organisations have withdrawn staff to their Kabul headquarters.

The Mirror has learned as many as 1,500 Afghan troops have fled across the border into Tajikistan.

On Friday the Taliban captured its first provincial capital in years â€" Zaranj, on the border with Iran.

Heavy fighting raged inside the key northern Afghan city of Kunduz ( X01347)

And on Saturday the deputy governor of northern province Jowzan said its capital Sheberghan was under attack.

An Afghan security forces spokesman confirmed “extremely heavy fighting is going on” in Kunduz.

The city, population 270,000, is regarded as a strategic prize as it is the gateway to central Asia.

Afghan security officials patrol after they took back control of parts of Herat city following intense battle with Taliban militants ( JALIL REZAYEE/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Local official Amruddin Wali said: “Heavy clashes started yesterday afternoon, all government headquarters are in control of the Taliban, only the army base and the airport is with Afghan security forces.”

Afghan forces have retaliated with air strikes aided by the US.

The US Air Force has pounded Taliban positions using B52 bombers, Reaper Drones and C-130 gunships in the south and west of Afghanistan.

There are fears strikes in Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province’s capital, aimed at trying to hold back the Taliban have killed civilians.

A health clinic and high school were said to have been hit over the weekend.

A Defence Ministry statement confirmed forces targeted Taliban positions, killing 54 fighters and wounding 23 others. It made no mention of a clinic or school being bombed.

But Dr Ahmad Khan Weyar, of the Helmand public health department, said a nurse was killed when an air strike hit a health clinic.

Afghan security officials and private militia loyal to Ismail Khan ( JALIL REZAYEE/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Bodies littered the streets after heavy fighting in the city â€" once a major British base.

The Taliban now controls nine of its 10 police districts.

Several other of the country’s 34 provincial capitals are under threat.

A UK Government spokesman said yesterday: “Reports of the escalating violence are extremely disturbing.

There needs to be a negotiated solution to ensure a lasting peace.”

The US Central Command said troop withdrawal is more than 95% complete and will be finished by August 31.

Former commander General Sir Richard Barrons said the withdrawal was a strategic mistake and Afghanistan could become a base for terrorists.

He said it sent a message that Western leaders “don’t have the stomach to see these things through”.

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