the group had captured police and administrative buildings in the center of the Sangin district, where small groups of police had been holding out. Government officials, however, have denied the claim and said they have pushed back Taliban insurgents.

Helmand's deputy governor, Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar, told Al Jazeera that government forces are "fighting to push back the Taliban," and that "parts of Sangin are under Taliban control, but not the police and military installations." Another local official, who spoke VICE News on the conditional of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, admitted that the police station and administrative headquarters had been overrun by the Taliban. But he said that the Afghan military had successful recaptured them over the last day.

The US airstrikes — carried out onWednesday — may have tipped the scales. General Abdul Wodud, a senior army commander, confirmed that a joint Afghan and NATO operation backed by air support had managed to drive the Taliban back from central areas, killing 60 Taliban fighters and wounding 40. The interior ministry also said that security forces had killed a senior Taliban commander named Mullah Nasir.

While NATO headquarters in Kabul confirmed that the airstrikes had taken place, it gave no details.

"US forces conducted two strikes in Sangin district, Helmand Province, December 23, against threats to the force," US Army Colonel Michael Lawhorn said.

Before the strikes, the Taliban already held three Helmand districts and moved freely outside the main populations, centers exercising control over strategic transportation routes. That's made it nearly impossible for the Afghan