Afghan defence minister says 'war is raging' with Taliban

Afghanistan's Defence Minister Bismillah Mohammadi said Wednesday that the "war is raging" with the Taliban, after the insurgents carried out their first major assault on a provincial capital.

"We recognize that the war is raging and we are in a very sensitive military situation," Mohammadi said, hours after the Taliban launched their assault on the city of Qala-i-Naw, the capital of Badghis province.

"I want to reassure all of you that our national forces, with the support of local resistance forces, will use all their power and resources to defend our homeland and our people," he said in a statement released to reporters.