Roadside bomb 'kills 10 policemen' in Afghanistan
29 April, 2012
ABUL/KANDAHAR: Ten policemen were killed after a roadside bomb ripped through their patrol vehicle in central Afghanistan, an official said on Saturday. The bomb struck their pickup truck in the restive Chak district of Maidan Wardak province on Friday, Ministry of Interior spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told reporters. "Yesterday afternoon a local police vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb that unfortunately left all 10 local police dead," he said. The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but put the death toll at seven. "The roadside bomb was planted by our mujahideen in Chak district of Wardak yesterday," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters. The Afghan local police are a government-sponsored militia force that works alongside the Afghan army and the national police. The Taliban have recently increased their attacks on Afghan officials and security forces. Separately, two bodyguards and two suicide attackers were killed in a gun battle inside the governor's compound in southern Kandahar province on Saturday, an official said. The Taliban again claimed responsibility for the attack, saying their main target was the provincial Afghan Governor Tooryalai Weesa. The insurgents somehow made it through the tight security at the compound with small pistols hidden in their sandals, Weesa said, and a gunfight ensued with guards that lasted for about 30 minutes. "After killing the two bodyguards, the attackers seized their rifles and opened fire on other bodyguards, injuring one," the governor told reporters, confirming that he was not hurt in the incident. The attackers were eventually killed, Kandahar government spokesman Zalmay Ayobi told reporters. Security forces also found a vehicle laden with explosives abandoned outside the compound. Condemning the attack, Weesa said the Taliban were resorting to "new ways and tactics to hurt the government and the people" but reiterated that "they will not succeed". End.
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