Clashes with Taliban halt supply of power in south Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) - Clashes between Afghan forces and the Taliban have cut off the main supply of power to Afghanistan's Helmand and Kandahar provinces, according to residents and the chief of the national power company.

Both areas are militant strongholds and major centres of opium production, which partly funds the insurgency. Key drug smuggling routes cross both provinces, making them a strategic priority for both Taliban and coalition forces.