Fighters linked to the terrorist group al Qaeda joined with the Taliban in an October attack on Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, its governor has claimed.
Up to 35,000 people were forced to flee from their homes by the recent wave of fighting.
Any evidence of al Qaeda activity in Afghanistan could threaten the core goal of the US-led, UK-backed mission in the country since 2001: to stop the group from operating there.
Sky News was given rare access to those who suffered the violence and others who say they were forced out by the Taliban.
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