Taliban launch major assault on northeast Afghan district

Hundreds of Taliban insurgents launched a major assault at dawn today on a remote district in Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan province, leaving beleaguered police officers there hoping for reinforcements to be flown in, officials said.
Some 300 Taliban fighters targeted the Yamgan district, a mountainous region with no road leading to it, said Sakhi Dad Haidari, a deputy provincial police chief in Badakhshan. Haidari warned the district could fall to the militants if reinforcements don't arrive soon.
Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a spokesman for the provincial police chief in Badakhshan, said the insurgents are near the district's headquarters and an intense battle still raged today.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, saying militants overran the district headquarters. Ahmadzai denied the claim.
The Taliban's annual warm weather offensive started in April, the first since US and NATO forces ended their combat mission in the country at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, a roadside bomb killed six members of a family yesterday in the Shah Wali Kot district of southern Kandahar province, said Samim Khpalwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor. He said four of the dead were women.
The Taliban often plant roadside bombs to target police officers and soldiers.