Taliban launches fresh attack on northwestern Afghan province

Taliban on Wednesday launched an attack onQala-i-Naw, capital of Badghis, as it continued itsassault withUS troops leavingAfghanistan.

The militants have been gaining a foothold in the north which wasn't their traditional stronghold amid fierce fighting with Afghan troops.

Reports had earlier said hundreds of Afghan soldiers had fled to neighbouring Tajikistan as President Putin called President Emomali Rakhmonto to assure him of all help as theUS declared on Tuesday that 90 per cent of its troops had withdrawn from the country.

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As talks failed to make any headway in Doha, Iran said it was ready to help.

The Afghan government delegationmet Taliban representatives in Tehran as fighting raged in the country. The Taliban delegation was headed by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai with Younus Qanooni representing the government as Iran's foreign minister Zarif called both sides to commit to political solutions.

On the ground, however, reports said the Taliban have entered Badghis city with some troops reportedly surrendering to the militant group.

Afghanistan's defence minister Bismillah Mohammadi said war is raging as the Taliban launched an attack on Qala-i-Naw. It is the Taliban's first assault on a provincial capital since they started their major offensive as fighting takes place inside the city.

The Taliban already controls the countryside in the western province as Afghan soldiers carry on their battle with most US troops having pulled out of key areas.

Meanwhile, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that the situation in Afghanistan could "swiftly deteriorate" with the "hasty exit of American and other NATO troops."

"They were unable to achieve visible results when it comes to stabilizing the situation during the decades they spent there."

Amid the fighting, Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmon hasordered the mobilization of 20,000 reservists to bolster the country's border with Afghanistan after several hundred Afghan government troops poured into the country afterbeing pushed back by the Taliban.

(With inputs from Agencies)