KABUL – Taliban fighters attacked Afghan bases in the western province ofFarah, killing more than 30 police, officials said on Friday, as theinsurgents stepped up their offensive in a region with vital opiumsmuggling routes into neighboring Iran.

Farid Bakhtawar, head of the Farah provincial council, said fighters hadstormed a police base overnight in Balabuluk, a district that has beenunder heavy pressure for months, killing at least 23 and wounding three.

In a separate attack in Farah city, Taliban fighters killed 11 police andseized a large quantity of weapons and equipment, he said.

The latest violence underlines the extent of the pressure faced by theWestern-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani, already heavilycriticized for a spate of suicide bombings in the capital, Kabul.

Last week, Taliban fighters, who challenge government control in almosthalf the country, seized a district in the northern province of Baghlan andthere has been heavy fighting in areas from Faryab in the northwest toGhazni, south of Kabul. Reuters

Farah, a remote and sparsely populated province between Iran to the westand the Taliban heartland of Helmand province in the south, has been a keybattleground for the insurgents for months, with heavy fighting inBalabuluk district.

The region covers major smuggling routes into Iran from Helmand, source ofmuch of Afghanistan’s opium crop.

Afghan special forces, backed by air support, have been heavily involved inthe fighting but have been unable to prevent repeated attacks by theinsurgents.

Farah’s governor resigned in January, claiming political interference andcorruption, and residents have complained bitterly about security in theprovince.

Since the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive lastmonth, fighting has been intense in many areas of the country and it isexpected to pick up further once the opium harvest is completed in comingweeks.

Violence has also increased around voter registration centers set up aheadof parliamentary and district council elections that are due in October.

U.S. and NATO officials say Afghan forces, backed by thousands more U.S.military advisers and intensified air strikes, have been steadily improvingand are matching and beating the Taliban.

However a recent report by SIGAR, a U.S. Congressional watchdog, said thatthe number of Afghan security forces personnel had fallen by 11 percentover the past year, even as fighting has intensified. Police, army and airforce numbers were almost 40,000 below the authorized strength of 334,000,the report said.