KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The Taliban conducted a raid in Afghanistan’s volatile south and took control of a provincial district, killing five people including the district chief and the head of the district police, the deputy governor said Friday.

The Taliban launched the attack Thursday evening on the Giro district of Ghazni province and during an hours-long clash killed the district chief and four policemen, including the district police chief, said provincial deputy governor Kazim Allayer.

Mr. Allayer said the Taliban set fire to several buildings in the district and cut communications lines. Deputy police chief Mohammad Zaman said police reinforcements have been sent to the area.

“Giro collapsed last night, captured by the Taliban after heavy fighting between the police and the Taliban,” said General Murad Ali, deputy regional corps commander of the Afghan army.

The Afghan army sent troops early Friday from Ghazni and Paktika to assist, General Ali said.

NATO and the American-led coalition said they were aware of the incident.

“The details are very sketchy right now. We’re tracking it closely,” said Major William Mitchell, a spokesman for the American-led coalition.

After a winter lull in attacks, the Taliban have stepped up bombings and attacks in recent weeks, as NATO-led forces push forward with their biggest ever offensive in southern Afghanistan to root out militants in the opium-producing heartland of Helmand province.

NATO forces claim to have blunted a vaunted rebel “spring offensive” with a series of military operations of their own in the south.