AFGHAN opposition groups yesterday gained ground close to the provincial town of Bamiyan in central Afghanistan in a new offensive against the ruling Taliban militia, resistance officials said.
The Shia Hezb-e-Wahdat party spokesman, Mr Ahmad Bahram, said opposition fighters captured Shaheedan region and the nearby airstrip of Shebar-Two. "The fighting, which lasted for two hours, was very heavy," he said, adding dozens of Taliban defenders were killed in their bunkers.
Mr Bahram, who said he was speaking by satellite phone from Shebar-Two, said the Taliban forced the airstrip to close before retreating to Bamiyan town.
He said Wahdat troops were within 10 km to the west of Bamiyan, which is home to two ancient Buddha statues. The ruling militia have laid a defence belt around the town, he said.
No comment from the Taliban was immediately available.
Bamiyan, which fell to the Taliban in their 1998 blitz, was recently the scene of heavy battles between the ruling militia and the opposition troops.
Last month Wahdat supporters captured the key town of Yakawlang in the region. Driven out by the Taliban in January, they regrouped later to reclaim it.
Taliban fighters inflicted a severe blow to the opposition in September by capturing Taloqan, the key base of main rival commander, Mr Ahmad Shah Masood, close to the Tajikistan border.