In the months prior to the assault on the city itself, the Taliban had captured much of Afghanistan's Farah province, with fighting intensifying as a result of the group's Al Khandaq spring offensive, named after the Battle of the Trench in which the Islamic prophet Muhammad led a decisive Muslim victory against Arab and Jewish tribes.

[citation needed] The Taliban began its assault on the city on 14 May 2018, using captured Humvees and Afghan police trucks to attack and overrun checkpoints and government buildings in Farah.

Afghan Airforce helicopters and American A-10 Warthog attack aircraft launched airstrikes on Taliban positions in Farah.

[7][4] On 16 May, government security forces backed by U.S. air support reasserted control over Farah after driving the Taliban out of the city center.

Abdul Basir Salangi, governor of Farah province, said that the clashes left at least 25 members of the government security forces and five civilians dead, and at least 300 Taliban fighters were also killed.