The Taliban stormed into Tarin Kot yesterday, triggering heavy fighting around government buildings as panicked residents scrambled to flee the capital of southern Uruzgan province, the latest city to be targeted by insurgents.

Pitched battles prompted urgent calls from officials for reinforcements and air support, afterthe militants toppled security posts on the outskirts to breach thedty gates.

Residents said senior officials were abandoning government buildings and fleeing to the airport on the outer edges of the city, which has practically been besieged by the Taliban for months.

"If reinforcements do not arrive the city will collapse into the hands of the Taliban," Karim Khademzai, head of the provincial capital, told AFP.

The Taliban are fighting to take over police and intelligence agency headquarters, residents said, voicing fears they will storm the local prison to free captured insurgents.

Tarin Kot's normally bustling streets were deserted and shops dosed as civilians sought to escape from the city.