A senior Afghan police official, reached by telephone inside Farah city, described the government's situation as "out of control" and predicted the insurgents would renew their offensive under cover of dark, when air support was less effective against them. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was contradicting official government reports.

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Taliban, issued a statement late on Tuesday afternoon on WhatsApp messaging groups claiming that the insurgents had taken "most parts of Farah city". He said that three senior Afghan security officers were among dozens killed in the insurgents' assault, which government officials denied.

Afghan officials confirmed that a district police chief in Farah died of his wounds on Tuesday, but they denied claims that the deputy provincial police chief had also died, saying he was critically wounded. Other claims were exaggerated, officials said.

"They kill one, and they claim three," said General Mohammad Radmanish, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence.

The US military said in a statement that it had A-10 warplanes over the city, which it claimed "remains under government control". Those aircraft are generally used for close support of troops, but the statement did not clarify whether they were joining Afghan military helicopters in bombing the Taliban.