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Afghanistan Taliban 'push further' into Helmand town of Sangin

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Media captionThe struggle for Sangin is part of a wider battle for control in Helmand province, as Frank Gardner reports

Taliban conflict

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Afghan government forces have lost control of the centre of the town of Sangin in Helmand province after days of fierce fighting, reports suggest.

Officials told the BBC that the Taliban controlled the local government building and police station.

The Taliban say their fighters have seized the entire district and that their flag is flying over Sangin. 

However, the Afghan defence ministry said fighting was continuing and that reinforcements had been sent.

Eyewitnesses say some government forces are still fighting in the district centre but are cut off.

District governor Haji Suliman Shah told the BBC he had been airlifted from the district headquarters to Shorabak base - formerly Camp Bastion - in Lashkar Gah early on Wednesday, along with 15 wounded security force members.

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Why Sangin matters

Image copyrightEPA

Image captionAfghan forces across Helmand - here a policeman patrols Marjah district - have come under pressure from insurgents

• Sangin is a rich production centre for opium in Helmand province
• Helmand is a major centre of the Taliban insurgency and borders Pakistan
• Of the 456 UK military deaths in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2015, almost a quarter were killed in and around Sangin
• US and British troops have been sent to Helmand in the last few days, but in an advisory role only