A UN facility in the western city of Herat was attacked on Friday, killing one Afghan police guard, officials said, as the battle raged between government forces and the Taliban.

Since May, when the Taliban launched an offensive and US-led foreign soldiers began to evacuate, violence has increased across Afghanistan.

Several districts have been taken over by extremists. They have taken control of two border crossings into Iran and Turkmenistan in Herat province.

Unconfirmed local claims claim that US airstrikes have aided the Afghan army in the Herat region, despite the fact that the Afghan air force is known to be active over the battlefield and the US has made no remark on whether it was participating in the conflict.

Residents claimed that fighting in Herat city prompted scores of families to escape as insurgents pushed on Friday.

According to a statement released by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama), the UN's main facility was damaged by rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire.

Deborah Lyons, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, said, "This attack is deplorable and we condemn it in the strongest terms,"

"The perpetrators of this attack must be identified and brought to account."

The attack was carried out by "anti-government elements" according to Unama.

The location was, however, the scene of a fierce battle between Taliban and government forces, according to the report.

The attack was "strongly condemned" by the United States.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan urged the Afghan government and Taliban to resume peace negotiations, saying, "The United Nations in Afghanistan is a civilian entity focused on supporting peace efforts, promoting the rights of all Afghans and providing humanitarian and development assistance,"

The UN's "commitment to support the government and people of Afghanistan in their efforts to achieve peace and stability" was reiterated by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Anxiety about diplomatic missions

Although the Taliban have stated that they will not target foreign diplomats, they have broken international protocol.

When the hardliners took control of Kabul in 1996, they broke into the UN compound and kidnapped and tortured the country's former leader, Najibullah Ahmadzai.

Taliban insurgents entered the Iranian embassy grounds in Mazar-i-Sharif two years later, after gaining control of much of Afghanistan, and killed ten diplomats and a journalist from the state news agency.

The Taliban were blamed by the EU delegation in Kabul for the attack on the UN compound in Herat.

"The Taliban must take responsibility for the atrocity, which will be viewed as an attack on all of us. It goes against all assurances given "The EU delegation's chief, Ambassador Andreas Von Brandt, stated on Twitter.

Insurgents and government forces have been fighting for two days on the outskirts of Herat, Afghanistan's third-largest city with 600,000 residents.

On Friday, locals in the districts of Injil and Guzara reported confrontations between Taliban and Afghan forces on the road leading to the city airport, according to an AFP correspondent there.

"People there are terrified," said Abdul Ansari, who fled Guzara for the city.

"The fighting is heavy but they have not captured the district of Guzara so far," said Mohammad Allahyar, another Herat refugee.

In recent days, Afghan forces and militias loyal to the veteran warlord and anti-Taliban commander Ismail Khan have been seen in the city.

Mr. Khan, who fought Soviet occupation forces in the 1980s and Taliban rebels in the 1990s, has promised to fight the insurgents once more.

Since Thursday, fighting has raged in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar.

According to police officer Daud Shah of Helmand, the Taliban stormed the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah from numerous directions on Thursday.

According to him, insurgents fired on police checkpoints but were repelled by Afghan Air Force attacks.

In the last 24 hours, at least 33 people have been wounded in fighting across Kandahar province, according to medical officials.

Unama raised his fears in a tweet about "escalating violence" in and around Kandahar, noting "credible reports of civilians killed"