Surprise attack by the Taliban kills 25 Afghan police officers

KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban militants launched surprise attacks against police checkpoints in southern Afghanistan and killed at least 25 officers, officials said Sunday.

Officials in Zabul province said militants from several provinces carried out the attacks against government installations in the provincial capital, Qalat, and three police posts in Shahjoy district late Saturday.

The provincial governor, Besmellah Afghanmal, said 25 police officers were killed and six wounded. The victims included members of the Afghan National Police and the Afghan Local Police, a U.S.funded government militia that provides security in rural areas.

Bakht Mohammad, an Afghan Local Police commander in Shahjoy, said fighting with the Taliban was continuing.

Atta Jan Haqbayan, head of the elected provincial council in Zabul, said Taliban fighters from three provinces were attempting to capture the district, part of the militant group's drive to increase its share of territory in outlying parts of Afghanistan. The U.S. military estimates that more than 40 percent of the Afghan population lives under areas of either total or partial Taliban control.

The Afghan security forces “suffered big casualties and the fighting is still going on,” Haqbayan said. “We also have civilian casualties. The (Afghan Local Police) is running out of ammo and isn't getting backup on time.”

The killings supported concerns that the Afghan security forces are often outgunned by the Taliban.

President Donald Trump is reportedly considering whether to send as many as 5,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to increase assistance to Afghan forces. There are now fewer than 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.