"The clashes started roughly at 1:00 a.m. local time Saturday after militants armed with assault rifles, machine guns, and rocket launchers attacked the city from three locations, but the security forces effectively repelled the attackers," spokesman Esmatullah Muradi said.
About 20 people, including a police district chief, were wounded in the clashes, according to provincial health officials. Fighter jets of the NATO-led coalition were hovering over the city in early hours of the day and several rockets firmed by militants struck the city, according to locals.
Taliban militants briefly overran the city twice since 2014 when Afghan security forces took security charges from NATO and the US.