Over 28 Afghan policemen killed in Taliban attacks

KABUL: At least 28 Afghan policemen have been killed in attacks in northern Faryab and central Wardak provinces, officials said on Sunday.

At least 17 policemen were killed after Taliban stormed the centre of Sayed Abad district of Wardak on Saturday night at around 9 pm, with fighting continuing into Sunday, provincial council member Mohammad Sardar Bakhtyari said.

He said six policemen were wounded when Taliban fighters set fire to the main police headquarters and the district governor’s building next door. The Taliban took military equipment with them after they ransacked the premises, Bakhtyari said.

In Faryab province, at least 11 policemen were killed when their check post in Pashtun Kot district was stormed by Taliban militants on Saturday night, local council member Mohammad Sami Khairkhwa said. Khairkhwa said the Taliban took over the check post during a battle that began around 10 pm and continued for at least four hours.

Mohammad Nader Saeedi, another provincial council member, said that the security situation in Pashtun Kot had forced residents to flee to Maimana, the provincial capital, and nearby provinces.

The central government had not heeded their calls for assistance, he said. Taliban militants have ramped up attacks on Afghan security forces and government facilities in the past months, making Afghan forces more thinly stretched throughout the country. Some 13.8 per cent of Afghan district are fully controlled by the Taliban while more than 30 per cent is contested, according to the US military. Other sources speak of much higher proportion of disputed territories. — dpa

The security situation in Pashtun Kot had forced residents to flee to Maimana, the provincial capital, and nearby provinces