Taliban attack three key cities of Afghanistan

Fighting is raging around three major cities in southern and western Afghanistan as Taliban militants seek to seize them from government forces.

Taliban militants have been attempting to gain control of three key cities in southern and western Afghanistan prompting major fights around the areas. 

Taliban fighters have infiltrated Herat, Lashkar Gah, and Kandahar provinces, reports the BBC.

Since it was reported that practically all foreign forces will leave by September, they have achieved rapid gains in rural regions.

However, the fate of these vital cities may be critical amid fears of a humanitarian crisis and how long government forces can hold out.

The fundamentalist Islamist group is reported to have already taken control of up to half of Afghanistan's land, including lucrative border crossings with Iran and Pakistan.

According to one Kandahar MP, the city is in grave danger of collapsing, with tens of thousands of people already displaced and a humanitarian calamity imminent.

Gul Ahmad Kamin said the situation was deteriorating by the hour, and the fighting within the city was the worst in 20 years.

According to him, the Taliban now see Kandahar as a significant focus point, a city they intend to use as a temporary capital. Kamin believes that if it falls, five or six other provinces in the region will be lost as well.

He said the Taliban fighters were on several sides of the city and because of the large civilian population government forces would not be able to use heavy weaponry if the militants got fully inside.

In Herat, a Tolo News reporter said clashes had intensified, with Taliban fighters entering southern parts of the economically important city.

There are reports of fighting in at least five different locations.

The US is still carrying out air strikes to support the Afghan forces, who have recaptured a district around the airport.

A guard outside a UN compound near the airport was killed on Friday in what the UN described as a deliberate Taliban attack.

Residents say few places in the city are safe and some people are taking up arms to defend themselves.

Ismail Khan, a former commander who fought against Soviet forces in the 1980s, has launched an armed movement to try to defend the city.

In Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern province of Helmand, insurgents are reportedly still within 2km of the city centre, although government forces had succeeded in holding back an advance overnight.

The commander of Afghan forces said the militants had suffered significant casualties.

Local sources told the BBC the Taliban had advanced close to the governor's office on Friday before being forced back.