U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says the Taliban's deadly assault on the Afghan city of Ghazni is the kind of violence the insurgents are likely to repeat in the run up to parliamentary elections scheduled for October.
In his most detailed comments on Ghazni since the assault was launched Aug. 10, Mattis said the Taliban had six objectives in and around the city and seized none of them. He would not specify the six sites.
The fighting in Ghazni continued for about five days. The Afghan government said more than 100 of its security force members were killed, plus 20 civilians. Scores of Taliban were also killed, according to Afghan officials.
Mattis discussed the situation during an interview with reporters flying with him Thursday evening to Bogota, Colombia.