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Dozens of people have been killed in fierce fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters, officials said yesterday.
Officials claimed at least 100 militants had been killed during five days of clashes across Helmand province that also left 35 civilians and 21 soldiers dead.
But the Taliban had claimed on Tuesday that it had lost only two fighters compared to more than 40 soldiers.
Taliban fighters began attacking police checkpoints in Sangin district on Sunday, forcing the government to send reinforcements to bolster the local security forces.
Since then, violence has spread to three other district — Kajaki, Musa Qala and Nowzad — said Defence Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi.
The area, close to the border with Pakistan, has long seen some of the most serious insurgency against the Western-backed Karzai administration.
Local government spokesman Omar Zwak said that around 1,000 families had been displaced by the most recent fighting.
