Fierce fight for Helmand

Clashes intensified yesterday as the Taliban pressed an offensive to capture a key district in Helmand's opium-growing heartland, a day after an official warned the entire southern Afghan province was on the brink of collapse.

Local residents reported crippling food shortages in Sangin district, long seen as a hornet's nest of insurgent activity, after the Taliban began storming government buildings on Sunday.

"The Taliban have captured the police headquarters, the governor's office as well as the intelligence agency building in Sangin," deputy Helmand governor Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar told AFP.

"Fighting is escalating in the district."

Rasoolyar's comments come a day after he posted a desperate plea on Facebook to President Ashraf Ghani, warning the entire province was at risk of falling to the Taliban.

The grim assessment bore striking similarities to the security situation that led to the brief fall of the northern city of Kunduz in September -- the biggest Taliban victory in 14 years of war.

The fall of Helmand would deal another stinging blow to Afghan forces who have struggled to rein in the ascendant insurgency after the US-led Nato combat mission ended a year ago.

Meanwhile, at least six foreign soldiers were killed yesterday when a Taliban suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a joint Nato-Afghan patrol near Bagram airbase outside Kabul, officials said.

"The attack left six coalition soldiers dead and two others wounded. Three Afghan policemen were also injured in the attack," said Mohammad Asem, governor of Parwan province where the airfield is located.

A security official in Bagram district gave a higher toll, saying five foreign soldiers had been killed and six others had been wounded. The nationalities of the troops were not immediately known.

In a brief statement Nato confirmed the attack but gave no details. "There has been a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack in the vicinity of Bagram Air Field. At this time, the incident is under investigation," it said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility, with a spokesman claiming on Twitter that 19 US soldiers had been killed.