Sunday 8 May 2011 14.51 BST
- Article history
Afghan troops have engaged in running battles with Taliban fighters in Kandahar, a day after insurgents launched waves of attacks on government and police targets.
Gunfire and explosions echoed across the city through the morning as Afghan forces, aided by Nato-led coalition troops, tried to mop up pockets of insurgent fighters, including some who were holed up in a shopping centre.
The governor of Kandahar province, Tooryalai Wesa, declared that the attacks had been put down, but soon after he spoke bursts of gunfire were heard from the shopping centre.
Wesa said at least 18 fighters, many of them suicide bombers, had been killed. Three members of the Afghan security forces and one civilian were also killed, he said. Another 40 people were wounded, including 14 police.
Four insurgents were captured, all of whom had been part of a mass jailbreak from Kandahar's main prison two weeks ago, Wesa said.
The interior ministry said eight suicide bombers had attacked Wesa's office, an office of Afghanistan's intelligence agency and police outposts on Saturday. The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying it was part of a week-old spring offensive.
The attacks were not in revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden, a Taliban spokesman said, despite claims to the contrary by the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. The Taliban said escapers from the jailbreak were among hundreds of fighters involved in the attacks.
Other attacks occurred in the neighbouring Arghandab river valley west of the city, an important insurgent route for moving men and weapons into Kandahar.
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