Half a million flee Kandahar

Humanitarian officials say an estimated 500,000 people have fled Kandahar.

It comes after US jets attacked the outskirts of the Afghan city.

Taliban officials have reported huge explosions near the airport.

Kandahar is the base of the Taliban, and has been targeted almost daily since the airstrikes began October 7.

Humanitarian officials say the majority of the city's estimated 500,000 people have fled.

In Islamabad, Pakistan, UN spokesman Khaled Mansour said reports from the Kandahar describe the city as "deserted."

Electricity and water have been disrupted, and prices for wheat have gone up by about a third, Mr Mansour said.