The capital of Afghanistan's southern Uruzgan province, Tarin Kowt, is on the verge of falling to the Taliban, as militants attacked the town's security checkpoints for the fourth consecutive day, a security official said Wednesday.
Five checkpoints near Tarin Kowt had fallen to the Taliban since Tuesday, said Uruzgan security chief Colonel Abdul Qawi.
Five policeman were killed and two others were wounded in the fighting and Taliban militants were still attacking the city from different positions, Qawi said.
"[The militants] are in some areas as close as one kilometre and in some five kilometres to the main city," Qawi said.
Uruzgan province is one of the most volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan.
Anti-government militants are actively operating in a number of its districts and often carry out insurgency activities.
In June, a Taliban attack in Uruzgan's Dehrawood district killed at least ten Afghan National Army soldiers.
