Marja police chief gunned down by rebels

LASHKARGAH (PAN): A district police chief was killed and his bodyguard wounded during a clash in southern Helmand province on Wednesday morning, a security official said.

Wishing anonymity, a source in provincial police told Pajhwok Afghan News the Marja police chief, 1^st Lt. Toryalai was killed in the firefight triggered by a rebel attack on a police check-post.

Toryalai and his guard rushed to the site where they exchanged fire with the assailants, the sources said, adding the district police chief was killed and his guard injured.

But Col. Mohammad Ismail Hotak, police coordination chief, said the Marja police head and his guard had been wounded in the gunbattle.

Locals said police and militants had been locked in an intense gunbattle and both sides used heavy and light weapons. The Taliban have not yet commented on the incident.

rm/mud

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