Desperate locals have answered an urgent call to arms from civil war era warlord Ismail Khan to shore up defences around Herat which is now effectively under siege. Firefights with the Taliban have become a nightly occurrence on the city outskirts as civilians wait fearfully for the insurgents to break through. A MailOnline reporter found makeshift defences of lines of rocks and rubble left in the road at one checkpoint, forcing motorists to slow down and weave around them. Piles of rocks are providing flimsy defences at a checkpoint protecting the city of Herat.