BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Western-backed Afghan defenses will not break under the weight of Taliban violence in advance of scheduled parliamentary elections in October, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said.

In his most detailed comments on the Taliban's assault on the eastern city of Ghazni since it began Aug. 10, Mattis said the Taliban had six objectives in and around the city and failed to seize any of them. He would not specify the six sites.

In Ghazni, provincial police chief Farid Mashal said Thursday that roads were being cleared of mines planted by Taliban who temporarily held entire n...