LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The intense fighting which flared up between Taliban and government forces for the control of the troubled Helmand province in southern Afghanistan nearly a month ago has decelerated, the provincial government said.
"The fighting has been going down in Helmand province nowadays after hundreds of the Taliban insurgents have been killed," provincial governor Hayatullah Hayat told Xinhua on Monday.
Helmand, a hub of growing poppy and hotbed of Taliban militants, has been the scene of increasing insurgency over the past several years.
However, the conflict got momentum in mid July when Taliban fighters launched coordinated offensives in Nad Ali, Marja, Nawa, Chah-e-Anjir, Garmsir and other districts in the restive province to overrun provincial capital Lashkar Gah, the key town in southern region and 555 km south of the national capital Kabul.
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