In the Musa Qala district, according to the governor there, 50 police officers were killed or wounded, which is in addition to those killed in the Sangin fight. Both Musa Qala and Sangin have been heavily contested throughout the war because they are in green areas particularly suited to opium cultivation, with many places for insurgents to hide.

“Sangin is a key crossroads, the last place where the insurgent can grow, harvest and process poppy,” Lt. Gen. Richard P. Mills said in 2010 when he was the Marines’ commander in Helmand. “It is the last bit of important terrain in Helmand, and he is fighting hard to hold it.”

The last of the American Marines left the area in May, with their commanders declaring Sangin and Musa Qala largely pacified. But the Taliban began probing attacks in Musa Qala soon afterward, and a full-scale offensive in Sangin the following month.

“If our forces do not get enough support and enough weapons and ammunition, the battle will get out of control in Sangin, and once the enemy take control of the district, it will be even harder to get them out.” said Gen. Juma Gul Himat, chief of Helmand’s provincial police department.

General Himat complained that the American-led coalition, known officially as the International Security Assistance Force, had not provided air support. “We have requested air support from NATO hundreds of times but they are not responding positively,” he said.

A spokesman for the coalition, Maj. Paul L. Greenberg of the Marine Corps, said air support had been given to Afghan forces in Sangin. “ISAF has received those requests and ISAF has provided aviation support accordingly in Sangin District over the past several months, to include support over the past several weeks,” he said.

But General Himat said that national and international forces had failed to respond to pleas from northern Helmand for more support, heavy equipment and reinforcements. “We have shared our problems with higher authorities and the Ministry of Interior itself, but they are also lacking equipment, so we are asking the international community not to leave us alone, and provide what we need to fight our enemies,” the general said.