In Ghazni, heavily damaged by five days of heavy fighting this week, there were warnings of the danger posed by unexploded ordnance and there were still problems with water and power but otherwise the situation was calm.

"Clearing operations in Ghazni continue, but violence in the city, which is recovering from the Taleban's aftermath, has abated and the city remains quiet," said Lieutenant-Colonel Martin O'Donnell, spokesman for US Forces-Afghanistan.

The latest fighting has raised questions over prospects for peace talks between the Taleban and the Western-backed government ahead of next week's Eid al-Adha, a major annual Muslim festival.

Taliban officials have told Reuters the movement's leadership was considering a ceasefire, following a three-day truce during the Eid al-Fitr holiday in June, but there has so far been no confirmation.

The last Eid truce, which saw unarmed Taleban fighters mingling with soldiers and police in Kabul and other cities, offered a rare glimpse of peace and Taliban officials say they have held preliminary meetings with US diplomats.

But officials have also said they are bracing for more violence with the approach of parliamentary elections in October.