LASHKARGAH/GHAZI CITY (PAN): Seven policemen were mysteriously killed in an attack on their check-post near Lshkargah, the capital of southern Helmand province, on Monday, an official said.
Elsewhere in the volatile south, 10 militants were shot dead and as many wounded during a firefight with Afghan and foreign forces in the Giro district of Ghazni province.
The policemen manning a checkpoint on the Helmand-Kandahar highway were killed by unidentified assailants, Helmand governor’s spokesman Daud Ahmadi told Pajhwok Afghan News.
The assailants took away police weapons, said Ahmadi, who had no further details of the incident. A search has been launched for the attackers, he added.
Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, speaking on behalf of the Taliban movement, claimed responsibility for the afternoon assault in the Sarkari area. The assailants killed seven policemen, including the checkpoint commander, before escaping in the police pick-up, he said.
Col. Daud Shah Wafadar, commander of the third brigade of the 203rd Afghan National Army Corps in Ghazni, said at least 10 fighters were killed in the gunbattle with Afghan and NATO-led forces.
Another 10 rebels were wounded in the overnight clash that erupted in the Idriskhel area, Wafadar said, adding the security personnel suffered no casualties. Some weapons were also seized from the guerrillas.
Resident Mohammad Omar confirmed the fighting, saying a tank of foreign forces was blown up during the engagement.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed the militants killed dozens of soldiers and destroyed three ISAF tanks during the engagement. He said only four Taliban were injured in the clash.
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