Eight Afghan policemen killed

KABUL: Taliban militants attacked a police post in central Afghanistan, sparking a day-long battle on Sunday which killed eight policemen, four civilians and nine militants, a provincial governor said.

Insurgents first attacked a police post overnight in the Kijran district of Daykundi province, killing two policemen and wounding two others, provincial governor, Qurban Ali, told AFP.

Police reinforcements were sent Sunday morning to support the police post, initiating a day-long battle with the militants, he said.

“Six policemen and four locals supporting the police forces in fighting against the Taliban were killed, and two policemen were wounded,” said Ali. Nine militants were also killed before their Taliban comrades fled the area, he added. Daykundi is a remote and isolated province which rarely sees Taliban violence compared with neighbouring Uruzgan and the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, where militant attacks occur almost daily.

The Taliban have waged a bloody insurgency against Nato and Afghan forces which is becoming more resilient every year.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 14th, 2010.