HERAT, (Afghanistan): US and Afghan aircraft Tuesday bombed Taliban positions in the western city of Farah after the insurgents launched a major attempt to capture the provincial capital, with fearful residents seeking shelter from explosions and gunfire.

The attack — the first major assault targeting a city since the Taliban launched their annual spring offensive — began around midnight, with the militants capturing one urban district and parts of another, said local provincial council member Jamila Amini.

“Heavy fighting continues inside the city and aircraft have just started bombarding Taliban positions,” she told AFP earlier Tuesday from inside Farah. NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Kabul tweeted that the Afghan army, supported by US airpower including A-10 Thunderbolts, was “on the offensive” and the city “remains under govt. control”. Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the Afghan air force was also taking part in the fighting. “(The Taliban) will fail,” he vowed.—AFP