Taliban continue fighting in Kandahar

Sporadic gunbattles raged for a second day in Kandahar on Sunday as the army tried to fight off a Taliban assault on the key southern Afghan city. At least 18 people, including 14 insurgents, are reported to have been killed.

Reuters TV

Nearly 50 people have been wounded in 24 hours since Taliban armed with suicide vests, guns and rocket-propelled grenades attacked government buildings.

Although the violence died down overnight, two Taliban fighters still occupied a traffic police building on Sunday, firing shots and rockets. The building is close to the local office of the intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), an institution frequently targeted by insurgents.

Kandahar's streets were virtually deserted on Sunday and roads into the city have been blocked off.

A spokesperson for the governor of Kandahar province, Zalmay Ayobi, said 14 insurgents had been killed since Saturday and that four had been arrested, including one Pakistani.

President Hamid Karzai has branded the attack "revenge" for this week's killing of Osama bin Laden. The Taliban said the operation was planned several weeks ahead.