New Delhi/Kabul, Aug 3 (TIWN) Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has blamed the speedy withdrawal of US-led troops for the worsening violence in his country, as government forces are strugglingto prevent provincial cities from falling to the Taliban amid a major escalation in fighting, a media report said.

Taliban fighters assaulted at least three provincial capitals overnight, Lashkar Gah, Kandahar and Herat, after a weekend of heavy fighting that resulted in thousands of civilians fleeing the advancing militants, the Guardian report said.

On Monday, Ghani told Parliament that "an imported, hasty" peace process "not only failed to bring peace but created doubt and ambiguity" among Afghans.